By the time they returned to the hotel, it was almost ten o’clock at night. They had originally planned to go to the Tengma Platform that evening, but who would have thought that this sudden incident would throw everything into chaos?

Yi Wansan was quite pleased with himself, saying, “None of you know what a great achievement I’ve made.”

Although the surveillance video had proven Yi Wansan’s innocence, at least half the street had seen him chasing and beating Ma Chao. When questioned about the reason for the fight, Yi Wansan suddenly had an inspiration.

He “honestly” said: “At that time, we were talking about Zhang Tong’s case.”

The two police officers taking his statement unconsciously exchanged glances.

Zhang Tong’s case had caused quite a stir in South Field County.

Yi Wansan pretended not to notice and continued to “express” his grievances: “I was just joking. I said to him, ‘At that time, on the bridge, it was just you and that woman. Who killed the person is still uncertain.”

“Who would have thought he’d get so angry? He splashed that scalding hot soup on me. Officers, it was burning hot! If you were splashed, wouldn’t you be upset? I got angry and chased after him to beat him up.”

His expression was sincere and aggrieved. He was indeed injured, with his whole body smelling of seafood. The police officers felt sympathetic toward him and nodded.

At this point, Yi Wansan felt relieved: “See? Haven’t I successfully infiltrated the police? I’ve thrown out a brick to attract jade, gradually bringing up the suspicious points in the little female boss’s case.”

Cao Yanhua said, “Brother Sansan, enough with the throwing. You should take off your clothes quickly. Let’s see if your shoulder is scalded, and that hand of yours needs to be bandaged.”

Yi Wansan felt it was no big deal, just some minor injuries. However, having someone worry about him made him feel quite good.

So he took off his outer garment, pulled up the hem of his t-shirt, and yanked it over his head.

Only after taking it off did he realize that Mu Dai and Yan Hongsha were sitting across from him. Yi Wansan felt a bit awkward, but seeing that both women maintained perfectly calm expressions, he found it rather incredible. He thought to himself, aren’t they supposed to be embarrassed?

Luo Ren, who had been pondering, said: “Let’s assume for the moment that the murder weapon is on Ma Chao. Then what’s with those other people? Yi Wansan didn’t push anyone, yet four people came forward claiming they saw it happen.”

At the mention of those four people, Cao Yanhua became angry: “It’s fortunate we have surveillance nowadays. In the past, with just their word against ours, we would have been framed for sure.”

Mu Dai thought for a moment: “Could Ma Chao have instructed them?”

Yan Hongsha was confused: “But Ma Chao was knocked unconscious at the time.”

Mu Dai explained: “This kind of instruction might not be what we’re familiar with. After all, if the murder weapon is on him, it might be something like mind control, making people say specific things.”

Cao Yanhua said, “If that were the case, he could have just mind-controlled my Brother, Sansan. Why go through all the trouble of being chased?”

Mu Dai couldn’t answer, but Yi Wansan hesitantly said: “Is it possible that he couldn’t control me?”

He raised his hand, which was now bandaged: “I remember that as soon as my blood touched his face, he reacted violently.”

Perhaps because their blood had contained the three murder weapons before, could it be that Ma Chao reacted so intensely because Yi Wansan’s blood had some restraining effect on the murder weapon?

But would the murder weapon fear their blood to such an extent?

In the middle of the night, Luo Ren sat up in bed, thought for a moment, then got dressed and went out.

He didn’t take the car—it was too conspicuous in this place. Besides, the city was small, and he quickly arrived at the hospital.

He checked the time: 2 AM.

The hospital was quiet; all the daytime commotion seemed to have fallen asleep. The nurse on duty at the outpatient hall noticed someone coming in but didn’t even bother to look up, assuming he was just another family member visiting a patient.

Luo Ren wasn’t in a hurry. Following the direction signs, he searched floor by floor, room by room. Given Ma Chao’s serious condition, he would either be in the morgue or the intensive care unit.

He soon found the place.

Whether fortunate or not, the standards for intensive care here were rather rudimentary. Although the various machines barely met requirements, the staffing was quite loose. The nurse on duty checked the instrument readings, yawned, and pushed open the door to leave.

Luo Ren hid in the shadows, waiting until she disappeared at the end of the corridor before quickly slipping through the door.

After closing the door, the room fell silent. The vital sign monitors flickered with a green glow in the darkness, and the various machines ran with a barely perceptible hum.

Ma Chao’s breathing wandered through the dark room, his chest rising and falling weakly.

Luo Ren walked to the bedside and switched his phone to flashlight mode, carefully examining Ma Chao’s face.

The circle of burn-like marks that had previously resembled the pictograph for “mouth” had almost faded away, leaving only faint red traces.

Luo Ren set his phone aside and took out the knife he carried with him. He slid the blade across the pad of his left index finger, watching as the blood formed a droplet, then reached toward Ma Chao’s face and gently shook his finger.

The blood droplet fell onto Ma Chao’s face and slid down his cheek.

Apart from its color, there was no difference from a drop of water sliding down. The expected burn marks or abnormal reactions did not occur.

Luo Ren frowned, paused for a moment, then silently retreated from the room.

Returning the way he came, with the night wind rustling around him, his mind was in chaos with many questions.

If the murder weapon feared blood, why was there no reaction to his? If it didn’t fear blood, how could Yi Wansan’s incident be explained?

As he turned into an alley, his gaze dropped down, and he suddenly noticed the shadows on the ground.

Long and narrow—his own, overlapping with someone else’s.