The traffic police pushed through the crowd, walking toward Yi Wansan.

Yi Wansan wanted to back away. Perhaps because he had played too many games of chase with law enforcement in his earlier years, he instinctively tended to avoid the police.

Surveying his surroundings, it wasn’t completely packed; there were several empty gaps. It would take less than two seconds to run through. If someone tried to stop him, he could press down on the front of a vehicle, flip over it, jump down from behind, and run…

Earlier he had been lamenting how Mu Dai couldn’t stay calm and had fled from the police station. Now he realized that when it was his turn, he would do exactly the same.

While he was hesitating, his shoulder was suddenly bumped. Yan Hongsha brushed past him from behind, dropping a sentence: “It’s fine, go with them. We have mouths too, you know.”

She didn’t look at him as she hurriedly stood among the crowd of people engaged in heated discussion.

Yi Wansan began to understand. He looked back at Luo Ren, who merely gave him a slight nod before quickly averting his gaze.

The sound of an ambulance rang out in the distance. Facing the stern-looking traffic officer, Yi Wansan gave a dry laugh, raising both hands in surrender, and said, “It’s a misunderstanding, truly a misunderstanding.”

A little after eight in the evening, Cao Yanhua arrived breathlessly at the Mimi restaurant branch opposite the South Field County Traffic Management Bureau. Before entering, he was quite disheartened to discover that there was still a police car parked at the entrance of the bureau.

The Mimi restaurant was packed full. Cao Yanhua looked around for a while before spotting Luo Ren waving at him from inside.

Cao Yanhua rushed over and sat down: “Brother Luo, why is there a police car?”

“Because it’s not just a simple traffic accident. Both traffic police and officers from the local station are here.”

He continued: “Hongsha is inside. As an ‘eyewitness,’ she’s been invited to assist with the investigation, competing with several other witnesses.”

Cao Yanhua gritted his teeth: “Are those little brats all saying it was my Brother, Sansan, who pushed the person?”

Luo Ren nodded, lowering his voice slightly: “Neither Hongsha nor I saw the incident, but we feel something is fishy, so I asked Hongsha to stir things up. I noticed there’s surveillance at the traffic light intersection. The police should check the footage. If Yi Wansan did push him…”

If Yi Wansan did push him, then Hongsha would be in a rather awkward position.

Cao Yanhua hurriedly defended Yi Wansan: “It can’t be my Brother Sansan. He’s such a sentimental person that he was half-dead for days over some wild man. How could he deliberately harm someone?”

Luo Ren’s beef rice bowl was ready. The shop owner brought it over and handed a menu to Cao Yanhua.

Cao Yanhua pointed at Luo Ren: “I’ll have the same as him.”

Luo Ren picked up his chopsticks, stirred the rice mixture a few times, then suddenly remembered something: “Is Mu Dai alone at the hotel?”

Only then did Cao Yanhua recall this matter: “No, my little master came with me.”

Luo Ren was startled: “Then where is she?”

“Brother Luo, have you lost your mind? My little master’s identity is sensitive now. How could she easily show her face?”

He mysteriously pointed outside: “She’s in the alley.”

Luo Ren knew Cao Yanhua meant the side alley. Although people passed through that alley, there weren’t many.

He pushed the beef rice bowl toward Cao Yanhua: “I haven’t started yet. You eat.”

After saying this, he got up and walked out.

Cao Yanhua looked at the soup bowl in front of him, feeling a pang of jealousy, thinking sourly: Brother Luo must have gone to accompany my little master, leaving me all alone here to eat rice.

Mu Dai wore a mask with her hat pulled low, pacing alone in the alley, occasionally looking up at the brightly lit Traffic Management Bureau diagonally across.

The alley entrance darkened as someone entered. Mu Dai quickly squatted down, pretending to tie her shoelaces.

Luo Ren also squatted beside her and said, “Your shoes don’t even have laces. Isn’t it tiring to act like this on the spot?”

Mu Dai sighed in relief, unable to suppress a smile, and after a moment said: “You gave me a fright.”

Her hat was slightly askew. Luo Ren reached out to straighten it for her, then removed her mask: “It’s late at night, and no one can see you. It must be stuffy wearing this.”

He then asked: “Have you eaten?”

Mu Dai shook her head.

Luo Ren looked back toward the alley entrance and said, “Wait for me a moment.”

He returned shortly, having bought biscuits, water, and a box of fried tofu.

There were some discarded wooden planks stacked in the corner. Luo Ren led her to sit down. Above them, some unknown tree extended its dense canopy from the other side of the wall, like an umbrella overhead.

Mu Dai opened a bottle of water, took a sip, and then looked up at the Traffic Management Bureau again.

“Will Yi Wansan be alright?”

“As long as the surveillance footage works in his favor, he’ll be fine.”

“Fat Cao said that many people at the scene pointed at him as the one who pushed.”

“About three or four people. Do you think Yi Wansan would have pushed him?”

Mu Dai thought for a moment and shook her head: “Yi Wansan might have some minor flaws, but he wouldn’t kill someone. Besides, he’s not stupid. If he wanted to deal with Ma Chao, he’d have plenty of other opportunities. Why choose a busy street with people coming and going?”

Luo Ren pondered: “But oddly enough, there are people pointing fingers at him. Don’t you find that strange?”

“Could they be Ma Chao’s accomplices?”

Luo Ren carefully recalled the scene.

At that time, people had crowded in from all around. The few individuals who accused Yi Wansan differed greatly in dress, age, and demeanor. They didn’t seem like they would have any connection.

Luo Ren said, “Actually, Yi Wansan’s situation is quite similar to yours when you think about it.”

That night, whether Mu Dai had appeared on the bridge or not, one person said she was there, two people said she was there, three people said she was there, and so she was considered to have been there.

Did Yi Wansan push Ma Chao? One person said he pushed, two people said he pushed, three people said he pushed, and so he became a suspect.

Luo Ren spoke softly: “Three people making the same claim creates a tiger.”

Mu Dai didn’t hear clearly: “What?”

“Killing with words.”

Mu Dai thought he was joking: “Can words kill people?”

“Do you know about Yuan Chonghuan?”

Mu Dai nodded. She vaguely remembered him as a late Ming dynasty hero who resisted the Qing and was later killed by the Manchus through a scheme of false accusations.

Luo Ren said, “It’s said that at that time, Yuan Chonghuan was defending Liaodong, posing a major obstacle to the Manchus entering the pass. Hong Taiji knew that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious by nature, so he devised a strategy.”

“He ordered men to capture attendants close to Chongzhen and tortured them severely. Those two men were tough and refused to confess.”

“One night, those two woke from their sleep and heard the guards outside whispering to each other.”

His voice was low and deep, making the story come alive. The alley was very quiet. Mu Dai listened attentively, her eyes wide open, her mouth slightly agape.

Luo Ren found her expression particularly adorable. He casually picked up a piece of fried tofu and held it to her mouth: “Here, eat.”

Mu Dai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she opened her mouth and bit the tofu, asking indistinctly: “Then what happened?”

“They heard the guard say, ‘Since General Yuan has pledged allegiance to us, the area within the pass will be easy to take.’ The other guard hurriedly interrupted him, saying, ‘Shh, such confidential matters shouldn’t be known to others.'”

“Those two men listened with blazing anger, thinking, ‘Yuan Chonghuan, that traitor, actually colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! It’s a pity this news can’t be passed on to let the emperor know.”

At this point, he looked at Mu Dai: “But heaven never cuts off all paths. The next day, these two men somehow found an opportunity and escaped.”

Mu Dai guessed: “They were deliberately allowed to escape, weren’t they?”

Luo Ren nodded: “Then, throughout the court and the country, news of Yuan Chonghuan’s collusion with the enemy and betrayal of the country spread like wildfire. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and had Yuan Chonghuan imprisoned and interrogated. The following year, he was executed by lingchi—reportedly cut over three thousand times. Nearly ten thousand people grabbed pieces of his flesh, fighting to eat it raw.”

Mu Dai sighed.

Luo Ren said, “If this story is true, who killed Yuan Chonghuan? Was it the knife that later dismembered him, or was it those whispered words heard by the two men when they woke from their sleep?”

Mu Dai’s eyes darted back and forth: “Neither, I think. Hong Taiji determined to eliminate Yuan Chonghuan.”

Luo Ren thought this made sense, too.

One thought, two words, three thousand cuts.

He took out his phone and showed Mu Dai a photo. Caught off guard, Mu Dai let out a soft gasp at what she saw.

It looked like a dead person with a bloodied face.

Luo Ren said, “This is Ma Chao after the incident. I took this photo. Notice his face—Yi Wansan was injured earlier, and his hand was bleeding. This blood is Yi Wansan’s. He pressed Ma Chao’s face, so at first glance, it looks like a handprint.”

Mu Dai exhaled a long breath and looked at the photo more closely.

It was indeed a handprint, but very faint. Strangely, in the center of the handprint, there was a circle resembling a burn blister or scald.

Mu Dai picked up a small stone from beside her and drew the shape on the ground.

It looked like the character “日” with the top horizontal stroke removed.

This shape…

Mu Dai had a sudden thought: “Is it a pictographic character?”

Like a tongue. Could it be…

Luo Ren nodded: “This is the pictographic character for ‘mouth.'”

There was a commotion at the entrance of the Traffic Management Bureau, seeming like people were coming out. Luo Ren tugged at Mu Dai, who quickly got up and put her mask back on.

The two walked to the alley entrance and saw that Cao Yanhua had also gone over and was standing by the railing, craning his neck to see.

There were many people at the entrance of the building. Yi Wansan was there, Yan Hongsha was there, as well as several other witnesses and police officers in different uniforms.

Yan Hongsha was blocking the other witnesses, preventing them from leaving.

Luo Ren and Mu Dai exchanged a glance and took two more steps forward.

They heard Yan Hongsha saying sternly, “Have you all gone mute? Weren’t you just saying you saw everything? How he pushed, how he crashed—why aren’t you saying anything now? After seeing the video, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Those few people looked at each other awkwardly, with two of them even coughing uncomfortably.

A traffic officer came out to mediate: “Now that everything’s been cleared up, let it go. Miss, forgive when you can forgive.”

Yan Hongsha wouldn’t back down. Before the surveillance video was released, she had been one against four, scorched by their cold mockery and sarcasm. Now that she had turned the tables, it was time to settle the score.

“This isn’t about forgiveness. These people made false accusations with malicious intent that deserve severe punishment—severely!”

She turned to the police officer assisting with the case: “Such blatant false accusations, telling lies with their eyes wide open—shouldn’t they be locked up for ten days or half a month? Letting them go like this, aren’t you afraid they’ll endanger public safety?”

That officer, angered by her provocations, shouted at the group: “If you didn’t see it, don’t make things up! We follow the law now, and reckless talk has consequences!”

Those people also became agitated. One of them said loudly: “We’re busy people who came to assist with the investigation. We’ve been very cooperative. Things happened so quickly that misperceptions can happen. Are you suggesting we deliberately framed him? For what purpose? Even the involved party hasn’t said anything, but you, just a passerby, have so much to say?”

After speaking, he shoved Yan Hongsha aside and walked out.

Yi Wansan tried to persuade her: “Let it go.”

“As long as the matter is resolved, that’s what matters. Now is not the time to argue. Besides, arguing is quite tiring.”

As the involved party, he was telling her to “let it go.” Yan Hongsha was so angry she nearly fainted: “Just you wait. Next time, I won’t help even if you end up in prison for life.”

She turned and walked away.

Yi Wansan watched Yan Hongsha walk into the distance before leisurely strolling to the gate. There, Cao Yanhua was leaning against the railing with feigned indifference, deliberately looking around, his posture somewhat seductive.

Yi Wansan walked up to him and asked: “Brother Cao, how did it go?”

Cao Yanhua slowly pulled his outer garment open a bit.

Yi Wansan leaned in to look. Inside the lining of Cao Yanhua’s outer garment hung several wallets and different keys.

Cao Yanhua said, “What do you think? Brother Sansan, with just one look from you, I knew what needed to be done.”

Not far away.

Luo Ren looked at Mu Dai: “As someone’s master, shouldn’t you properly discipline your disciple?”

Mu Dai said, “But I didn’t see anything.”