Coming to Myself

When Yin Feng said this, both You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan fell silent for a moment. The previous You Yingjun had indeed been one of their team members. Chen Feng had even completed the procedural formalities for him, making him an on-paper consultant. But who would have thought that the current him would return?

Jing Ping glanced at the expressions of You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan, sensing there was more to the story, and smiled as he said, "I haven't heard anyone mention it."

Xu Mengshan lowered his head and chuckled. You Mingxu stared at Yin Feng, but he still avoided her gaze, continuing to smile warmly at Jing Ping as he said, "I've always kept a low profile. Ding Xiongwei should be calling you shortly."

As if on cue, Jing Ping's phone rang right after he spoke. He smiled slightly and stepped aside to answer it.

Xu Mengshan glanced at the two beside him and said, "I'll walk ahead first."

Yin Feng's lips twitched slightly.

Then You Mingxu followed Xu Mengshan and turned to leave without another word. Yin Feng trailed after her. After a few steps, she asked, "Why are you here?"

Yin Feng replied, "To solve the case."

You Mingxu retorted, "Aren't you overstepping?"

Yin Feng lowered his voice, "This case has three layers. The first is investigating the disappearance of the rape and murder suspect; the second is uncovering the drug trafficking network; the third... is investigating our old adversary—the relationship between that criminal organization and Kaiyang Group."

You Mingxu kept walking, "How do you know that?"

Yin Feng smiled faintly, "Given Jing Ping's background, Guo Xing's identity, and the fact that they brought in a narcotics-unrelated detective like you, I naturally inferred Old Duan's intentions. He's always liked using indirect tactics, hiding his true motives like an old fox. One conversation with him, and I figured it out."

It took You Mingxu a few seconds to realize who he was referring to so familiarly as "Old Duan." She asked, "Did he agree to let you come?"

Yin Feng's tone was lazy, "Since I already guessed everything, he was happy to have my help. Why would he refuse an extra person unafraid of death?"

You Mingxu pressed, "But you still haven't answered me—why did you come?"

Yin Feng fell silent for a few seconds, his gaze sweeping over her back. Even while walking briskly, her neck was held stiff and straight, betraying her unsettled emotions.

Suddenly, Yin Feng felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. Ever since he remembered those things this morning, his heart had been restless, heavy, and he even felt waves of pain, along with an impulse to destroy something. But now that he saw her, and noticed she wasn't faring well either, his stifling discomfort eased. He didn't want to dwell on why—since his emotions had driven him here, he came. Why should he restrain himself?

However, in response to her questioning, he answered lightly, "Since it's related to that organization, of course I had to come."

You Mingxu stopped engaging with him and quickened her pace to catch up with Xu Mengshan. Yin Feng didn't mind. He looked up at the lush green mountains and clear waters, the desolate wilderness, and the biting cold—somehow, it all seemed vivid and endearing to him.

After finishing his call, Jing Ping naturally had a rough idea of Yin Feng's background. But what use could a criminal psychologist and writer be in their investigation of a drug trafficking case? Jing Ping remained skeptical.

He quickened his pace to catch up, glanced at You Mingxu's expression ahead, and smiled at Yin Feng, "Looking forward to working with you."

Yin Feng glanced at him, "Mm, likewise."

Xu Mengshan asked, "Teacher Yin, how did you find this place?"Yin Feng replied, "After I got the information, I went to Guo Xing's house first. After looking around, I was just about to go talk to the owner of the fish restaurant by the entrance when your colleague sent me the exact location."

Xu Mengshan glanced at You Mingxu and smiled. "Teacher Yin is still as impressive as ever."

Jing Ping also gave Yin Feng a couple more looks and said, "You've got some skills. Xiao You just came to the same conclusion as you."

Only then did Yin Feng feel that this extra person in front of him seemed a bit more agreeable. He smiled and said, "Oh? Xiao You?" His voice was low and unhurried, with the tone of an old man, and the way "Xiao You" came out of his mouth felt strange.

You Mingxu said calmly, "Have you checked the footprints by the fishpond?"

Yin Feng: "Mm."

"Then stop wasting time and hurry up and search."

Although the path had hard soil and dense vegetation, three people carrying someone would still leave traces. The four of them followed the mountain path, relying on scattered footprints and marks on the plants, tracking all the way. They encountered forks in the road, but they all led out of the mountains, making it easy to determine the direction. Before they knew it, they had been walking for two hours.

You Mingxu always walked at the front, with Xu Mengshan close behind, then Yin Feng, and Jing Ping bringing up the rear. As they walked, they heard someone behind them say, "Tired? Need a break?"

You Mingxu didn't know when Yin Feng had squeezed past Xu Mengshan and come up front. She replied, "If you want to rest, rest. No one's stopping you."

"Did you eat gunpowder?" he said.

"Not at all," You Mingxu replied. "I'm just annoyed at the sight of you."

Yin Feng actually laughed. For some reason, seeing her slightly ruffled appearance made him feel even more at ease, even a little inexplicably excited. However, this wasn't a good sign—he should control it, he thought.

"I'm different," he said lightly. "I admire your talent."

You Mingxu fell silent.

If Chen Feng were here, he would probably have opened his thin lips slightly in surprise—it was common for You Yingjun to chase after women, but when had Yin Feng ever been so shameless? As a favored son of heaven, a hot commodity in women's eyes, he usually just stood in place, smiled with ambiguous meaning, and hooked his finger, waiting for willing takers.

But You Mingxu found that she actually missed You Yingjun a little. Along the way, although Yin Feng spoke to her, it was only occasionally, and they were completely at odds, unable to agree on anything.

But You Yingjun was different. With him around, the journey was always warm. He would always stick his head over, worried she was tired or hurt, or act cute to take advantage of her. Although You Mingxu sometimes found it annoying, it turned out that many times, both of them were laughing.

At the time, it all seemed ordinary.

Thinking of this, You Mingxu turned her head and gave Yin Feng a cold glare. The latter raised an eyebrow, but You Mingxu had already withdrawn her knife-like gaze.

Yin Feng had to admit that being glared at by her made his heart skip a beat, and then he actually felt a trace of sweetness he had never experienced before. He licked his palate, his gaze involuntarily falling on her slender, pale neck, but his eyes were dark.

Ahead, they had entered the deep mountains. The mountains were damp, the soil soft, and rarely visited by people. Although there was no path left, the three sets of footprints reappeared. This was enough to excite them.Even though three days had passed, they proceeded cautiously just to be safe. However, aside from Yin Feng, the other three were top-tier experts—taking out an entire platoon would be a matter of minutes for them.

You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan had a long-established tacit understanding. With a shared glance, they split up to flank from left and right. Yin Feng immediately followed You Mingxu, while Jing Ping stuck with Xu Mengshan. Ahead, a stream appeared, its banks bearing increasingly distinct footprints. They pursued the trail for several dozen meters until the stream converged into a deep, expansive pool. This was an undeveloped area—had they not ventured this far, they would never have known such a deep water hole existed here.