The mountaintop was only a few dozen meters away from their location, and Lin Erde ran as if he were being chased by a dog. Yi Shi had to drag his injured arm and once again engage in a jungle chase game with him.
Lin Erde reached the summit first, kneeling down and clasping his hands together, murmuring to the empty sky. Without the cover of trees, the howling north wind felt as if it were going to blow him off the mountain. Below was an unfathomable abyss; a wrong step would lead to a deadly fall.
“Lin Erde!”
Lin Erde turned around and saw Yi Shi, panting as he caught up, and laughed, “This isn’t where I’m meant to be! I can go back at any moment, hehehe.”
He wiped his hands on his waist, his blood-stained fingers moving to the back of his neck. “My grandmother said that if a person’s soul leaves their body, they have to return quickly and mark the time on their body to return to when they left.”
Yi Shi’s eyelids twitched violently. In the classic sci-fi movies he had watched, the way to awaken from a dream was through death. Was Lin Erde planning to imitate that?
He had no idea he had entered the mirrored world as a complete individual. Jumping down would only lead to death!
“Don’t be foolish! Can’t you feel how real this world is?” Yi Shi stepped closer. “You’re not dreaming or experiencing an out-of-body experience. If you jump off the cliff, you’ll only die.”
“Real? Where does it look real?!” Lin Erde raised his hands. “There’s always an invisible little ghost behind you, and the guy who was with you before just vanished into thin air!” He raised his hands again. “Even the things I touch change! What’s real about that?!”
Such bizarre circumstances couldn’t be easily explained, and Yi Shi couldn’t be bothered to do so. The distance between him and Lin Erde gradually closed; all he needed to do was grab him and drag him away from the cliff edge…
Before Yi Shi could act, Lin Erde suddenly lunged at him, catching him off guard and pinning him to the ground. Yi Shi was astonished as Lin Erde’s hands tightened around his neck. His expression wasn’t fierce but rather carried a strange, neurotic intensity.
“You’re not real either, are you? If I strangle you, we can go back together.”
Yi Shi furrowed his brows. This guy was serious and really trying to kill him. He instinctively raised his right hand, but the pain from his wound made it impossible to apply any force. His hand fell back to the ground, leaving him to rely on his left hand to grasp Lin Erde’s wrist, desperately trying to pull it away.
He hadn’t expected to be in such a predicament; dying at the hands of a coward would leave him with no face to meet anyone in the afterlife!
Yi Shi bent his knee and drove it forcefully into Lin Erde’s abdomen. The hit landed perfectly, causing Lin Erde to turn pale and roll off him, clutching his wound and writhing on the ground.
Yi Shi sat up, coughing repeatedly, but Lin Erde wasn’t discouraged. He lunged from behind again, choking Yi Shi and dragging him to the edge of the cliff, pressing his head down with a frantic tone: “I said I’d take you back! Why won’t you listen?!”
All he could see were the cliff’s sheer walls, the darkness below unyielding and bottomless. The north wind blew even harder, scattering and tangling their hair, as if the hand of death was caressing them.
In that life-or-death moment, almost instinctively, Yi Shi grabbed Lin Erde’s arm and threw him over his shoulder.
A shadow flashed past his eyes; Lin Erde didn’t even have time to let out one last scream before disappearing from sight. Yi Shi knelt at the edge of the cliff, gasping for breath. After a few seconds, his heartbeat gradually calmed down as his gaze fixed on the darkness below.
He couldn’t see a trace of the situation down there, but he knew Lin Erde was certainly dead. It wasn’t due to infighting among accomplices or an ambush; he had died at Yi Shi’s hands.
So tired.
Yi Shi raised his head and closed his eyes.
Defying fate? It was just the ramblings of a fool.
Footsteps approached from afar. He knew it was the boy returning, who softly said, “He fell because of me. Are you scared?”
The boy looked stunned and after a moment, shook his head in disbelief: “I’m not scared.”
Yi Shi smiled faintly and finally stood up. “I need you to help me again; take me down the mountain.”
—
Lover’s Peak was on the northern side of Cheng’an, already close to the undeveloped Mount God Peak. It would take at least half a day to walk back to the mountain entrance from there. The boy pointed to the river that passed through north and south Cheng’an: “That’s the Subai River. It goes around the outskirts of Linjia Village. It’s the fastest way to get across.”
“And the most dangerous,” Yi Shi knew this river well. Nanyi was also within its basin. The river was swift and turbulent, with numerous drowning deaths occurring each year. Throughout history, who knew how many bodies had sunk in this river?
The return route went around a low-lying area and passed by the old ancestral hall. Suddenly, the boy asked, “The person who was with you, has he left?”
“Yeah.”
“He seems to be from Linjia Village too.”
“You know him?” Yi Shi looked at him curiously, but the boy immediately denied it: “No, I just feel that way. This ancestral hall is dedicated to the ancestors of Linjia Village. Only the people from Linjia Village dare to enter and exit freely.”
Yi Shi glanced at the dilapidated courtyard gate: “The villagers on the mountain don’t come in?”
“Almost never. They are very superstitious and afraid to offend the ancestors of Linjia Village, fearing retribution.”
Yi Shi murmured, “…Then maybe I’m the one who has been punished.”
The sky gradually darkened, and the two didn’t stop for a moment, choosing the shortest path down the mountain to the entrance. Along the way, the boy occasionally checked on Yi Shi’s arm injury. Yi Shi always replied that it was nothing. After so long, the bleeding had stopped; the only issue was that his clothing had stuck to the wound, and removing it without anesthesia would be excruciating.
At the mountain entrance, an Audi was parked askew, and a person leaned against the car door, smoking. Seeing them approach, he waved at the two.
“…Foresic Doctor Qi?” Yi Shi was both surprised and confused.
“Hey, I’ve been waiting for you for half a day.” Qi Wenyu flicked away his cigarette. “Get in the car; you sit in the back.”
“Why are you here?”
“A-Xue sent me. He had something urgent and couldn’t leave, so he sent me to pick you up,” Qi Wenyu said, looking Yi Shi up and down. “You’re injured? No wonder he told me to bring everything. Hurry and get in the car; it’s getting late.”
Yi Shi nodded. The boy beside him seemed worried and quietly asked, “Is it safe to go with him?”
“It’s fine. You should head home too, right?” Yi Shi smiled gently. “Thanks for your help.”
After watching the boy leave, Yi Shi got into the car, pressing his back against the soft seat. He let out a long breath. Qi Wenyu was steering the wheel and turned to drive out of the small road at the mountain entrance, asking, “What exactly happened? You disappeared for so many days without a word. I thought you had died in the line of duty.”
Yi Shi was taken aback: “…Died in the line of duty?”
“Isn’t it? That’s what everyone here is saying. By the time it got back to Nanyi, it became even more exaggerated, claiming an entire team had perished.”
In situations where information was unclear, rumors were bound to arise. Yi Shi hesitated: “So are you taking me back to the city bureau?”
“No, you’ll know when you get there.”
The car drove from the outskirts into the city, clearly heading toward the Haijing City Bureau, but just three intersections away from the bureau, the car turned and entered an old residential complex.
Although it was an old complex, it didn’t fit the stereotype of being run-down. The entire complex was primarily made up of low-rise and high-rise buildings, and the greenery was quite well maintained. However, the buildings were old, as the plaques hanging outside indicated that they had been completed twenty years ago.
Qi Wenyu parked the car in the underground garage, and after coming up, he wandered around. He was evidently also here for the first time, and finally asked an elderly lady for directions to find Building 36. Yi Shi followed behind him, entering the unit and taking the elevator to the 12th floor, stopping in front of door 1203.
“You bought a house in Haijing?” Yi Shi asked.
“Of course not! I’ve been transferred to Nanyi; how could I buy a house in Haijing?” Qi Wenyu unlocked the door with his key. “A-Xue told me who the owner of the house is. You’ll understand once you go in.”
The mahogany security door slowly opened, revealing the entire house. The area was about 120 square meters, a three-bedroom layout with simple yet elegant decor dominated by a Morandi color palette. The furniture was minimal, arranged neatly without any overly fancy decorations, showcasing the homeowner’s appreciation for simplicity and practicality.
Across from the shoe cabinet was a screen separating the dining area from the living room, with tiered shelves displaying picture frames. Yi Shi picked one up, and in the photo, Lin Zhizhi was smiling brightly, leaning affectionately against Lin Heyu.
Yi Shi was immensely surprised; this was Lin Heyu’s home. For the first time in his own world, he was getting a real glimpse into Lin Heyu’s life.
Qi Wenyu stroked his chin, noticing the shock on Yi Shi’s face. The homeowner clearly had a close relationship with him. From his years of experience, he sensed something was off.
Yi Shi walked through each room—one bedroom belonged to Lin Heyu, another to Lin Zhizhi, and the last had been turned into a study. Even after many years, the three-bedroom apartment remained pristine, with only slight signs of habitation. It was as if time had stood still there, leaving no significant traces of the years gone by.
He stepped into Lin Heyu’s room, feeling a strange sensation. Previously, Lin Heyu had seemed completely separate from his world, but suddenly entering a space filled with his essence blurred the once-clear lines.
Their personalities were quite similar. The large pieces of furniture in the room were just a bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe, with no unnecessary decorations, exuding a minimalist, masculine, and cold style. He opened the wardrobe, where all the hanging clothes were neatly packed in dust bags, and the folded clothes were compressed in vacuum bags, clean and orderly. The cabinet even contained mothballs and moisture-absorbing packets, giving off a faint medicinal scent.
It was unrealistic for these things to have been stored for twenty years; Yi Shi guessed that Lin Zhizhi must have done it. She would return to Haijing periodically, likely to tidy up and clean, in addition to visiting her brother’s grave.
“Did you just arrive? I thought you were supposed to be back earlier.”
“Not at all. I’ve been waiting for this kid until it got dark. Have you eaten? I ordered takeout; it should be arriving soon.”
“Wait, where is he?”
“Inside, inside…”
Hearing the voices, Yi Shi walked towards the entrance, coincidentally bumping into Yu Xue. Yu Xue had a bad complexion, with dark circles under his eyes and fatigue etched on his brow. Clearly, he had been through quite a lot recently.
“Captain Yu.”
When Yu Xue’s eyes met Yi Shi’s face, all his displeasure vanished, and a smile crept onto his lips: “You’re finally back. It’s good to see you’re fine.”
“Not exactly fine,” Qi Wenyu raised his chin. “There’s still a bullet in his arm.”
“Are you carrying that stuff around as decoration?” Yu Xue said coldly. Qi Wenyu quickly went downstairs to grab the takeout, bringing the bag back with him.
Yu Xue came out of the living room carrying a first aid kit filled with hemostatic supplies. He said helplessly, “The conditions are limited, so bear with it. You can’t delay your injury too long; if you wait until you’re back in Nanyi, your arm might become useless.”
Yi Shi nodded. He couldn’t wait to get it treated; he had wanted to find a knife to dig out the bullet back on the mountain.
Before long, Qi Wenyu returned, placing the takeout on the cabinet. The folded bag was opened on the coffee table, revealing various sizes and shapes of willow leaf knives.
Qi Wenyu smiled, “Don’t be afraid, little buddy. Although I usually only operate on the dead, taking out a bullet is a minor thing; it’s not much different for the living or the dead.”
Yi Shi: “…”
He hadn’t been too worried before, but after hearing him say that, he suddenly felt a bit scared.
