Coming to Myself

You Mingxu straightened up, steadied herself, and knocked "thump, thump" on the door.

The sound of knife sharpening abruptly stopped. After a moment, footsteps approached.

The door opened a crack, secured by a chain lock. Fu Wenxiu looked at them coldly through the gap.

He was bald and fairly tall, with a lean and sturdy build apparent at a glance. Although You Mingxu had seen his photo in the files, seeing him in person still made her tense up.

Fu Wenxiu had a striking appearance—not in terms of handsomeness or ugliness, but strangeness. His brow bones were prominent yet hairless, leaving only faint stubble. His nose was slender, but his lips were thick. Despite the chilly late autumn night, he wore no shirt at home, only a pair of shorts. Most unsettling was his demeanor. Even with two strangers at his door, he squinted slightly, wearing an inexplicable smile that felt cold and mocking.

You Mingxu showed him her police badge and stated their purpose.

Instead of opening the door, he asked with feigned seriousness, "Police? What do the police want with me? To buy fish? But I don’t sell fish anymore. Why don’t you go back to sleep and come again tomorrow morning?"

Despite his odd tone, You Mingxu didn’t even raise an eyebrow. Just as she was about to speak, Yin Feng cut in, "We’re here to talk. Open the door. Don’t you want to know what we want to discuss?"

Fu Wenxiu glanced at Yin Feng, snorted lightly, and surprisingly removed the chain lock to let them in.

You Mingxu also looked at Yin Feng. By then, Fu Wenxiu had already turned and walked inside. Yin Feng smiled faintly and pointed to his own head. You Mingxu instantly understood—he meant Fu Wenxiu was a bit mentally unstable? But how could Yin Feng tell after such a brief encounter?

...Birds of a feather?

The living room was spartan, containing only a table, a few stools, and a cabinet—hardly enough to judge whether the owner had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Fu Wenxiu made no move to offer them tea and simply sat on a small stool on the floor, resuming his knife sharpening.

You Mingxu studied him for another moment but didn’t interfere. She asked, "Do you live here alone?"

Fu Wenxiu suddenly looked up with disgust, raised a finger to his lips, and shushed her, saying, "Don’t be loud. Xiao Long is sleeping."

You Mingxu was taken aback.

According to the information Yin Feng provided, Fu Wenxiu had divorced his ex-wife five years ago, and their son, Xiao Long, had left Huaicheng with her.

"Alright, alright," Yin Feng said solemnly in a hushed tone. "We’ll keep quiet. Let’s continue with our questions, okay?"

Fu Wenxiu suddenly grinned, his eyes glinting, as he continued sharpening the knife with a rhythmic scraping sound.

You Mingxu asked, "Where were you last night?"

He replied, "Here?"

"Was anyone else with you?"

Fu Wenxiu glanced at her dismissively. "Of course, with Xiao Long."

"What did you do?"

Fu Wenxiu straightened up, holding what appeared to be an extremely sharp fish-gutting knife, and murmured to himself, "Almost sharp enough."

...

"Do you have a car?"

Still focused on the knife, he answered, "Parked out back."

Seeing his indifference, You Mingxu and Yin Feng walked through the house to the rear. Spotting the old Jinbei minivan parked crookedly under a large tree, You Mingxu’s eyes lit up.The two returned inside and asked a few more questions. Fu Wenxiu answered intermittently, sometimes distracted, occasionally bursting into sudden laughter, and at other times acting as if he hadn't heard, burying himself in sharpening his knife.

Finally, You Mingxu took out the fingerprinting kit and gave Yin Feng a meaningful look. Yin Feng said, "Fu Wenxiu, extend your hands and press them here."

Fu Wenxiu, sweating profusely from sharpening the knife and breathing heavily, looked up at the object in You Mingxu's hand and suddenly revealed a meaningful smile. He stood up and raised both hands toward them, fingers spread wide.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng were both taken aback simultaneously.

Fu Wenxiu's fingers appeared as if they had been soaked in water for a long time—the tips were white and mushy, covered in rotting skin and flesh.

He chuckled even more triumphantly, "Heh heh heh."

You Mingxu remained unfazed, grabbed his hand, and pressed it onto the fingerprint card.

By the time they left Fu Wenxiu's house, it was past midnight. The fourth person lived within a hundred meters.

This was a pork shop outside the wet market. The storefront was tightly shut, dark and unlit. A lingering smell of blood and raw meat hung in the air.

"Let's check the back," You Mingxu said.

Surprisingly, the yard behind the house was quite spacious, about seventy to eighty square meters. Trees peeked over the walls inside the yard, alongside several rooms. Light seeped through the cracks of the gate.

You Mingxu knocked.

After a long while, shuffling footsteps were heard. A small, thin old man with graying hair stood behind the door, his face deeply wrinkled and expressionless. He asked, "Who are you looking for?"

You Mingxu showed her badge, explained their purpose, and stated they were looking for his only son, Deng Yao.

The old man fell silent for a moment, then said, "He's already asleep... can't be woken up no matter what. Come back tomorrow."

You Mingxu smiled subtly, stepping forward imperceptibly to lean against the door, and said, "Uncle, there's a fugitive on the run recently. We have to question every household—it's standard procedure and won't take long. We'd appreciate your cooperation. If you don't cooperate, we'll have to bring your son to the station for questioning, which would be even more troublesome, wouldn't it?"

Yin Feng yawned and added, "Yeah, uncle, we've already visited dozens of houses and we're exhausted. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to sleep."

You Mingxu's lips curled slightly.

The old man said, "Then wait a moment. Let me tell my wife." He walked a few steps into the yard and called out loudly toward a lit room, "Fenghua, Fenghua... the police are here. They say they're chasing a fugitive and need to ask A'Yao some questions. You rest well. I'll come back after they're done."

There was no response from inside the room.

The old man let them into the yard. You Mingxu quickly scanned the surroundings—it was pitch black, and at first glance, nothing seemed amiss. The same bloody smell permeated the yard, with mottled stains of varying shades on the concrete ground. Near the large empty space under the tree, there were some muddy footprints.

The old man led them into an adjacent room. A musty, damp odor hit them, mixed with an indescribable stench, like that emanating from a human body. You Mingxu glanced at Yin Feng—his entire face was stiff, wearing a look of grim determination that was somewhat endearing.

She touched her nose. The old man walked to the bed—a single iron-frame bed that looked very old—where a tall man lay. The old man shook him several times: "A'Yao, A'Yao! Get up! The police are here! They need to ask about some fugitive! Cooperate properly, then you can go back to sleep!"The man grunted heavily a few times like an ox, rubbing his eyes as he climbed to his feet. Only when he sat up did You Mingxu realize he had a build like an iron tower—dark-skinned, with thick, sturdy muscles. His features appeared coarse as well: thick, short eyebrows, a square face with full lips, and dull eyes that avoided meeting theirs as he sat with his head lowered.