Gu Tiancheng was knocked unconscious.
You Mingxu had exercised restraint, knowing she had at most given him a mild concussion. She continued to hold him with one hand while reaching into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. She placed one between her lips, lit it, took a long drag, and sighed deeply. Squinting slightly, she raised her head.
The fool stood a few meters away from them, clutching a dagger in one hand and a stone he had picked up from somewhere in the other, poised to lunge forward if the situation turned sour. When their eyes met, despite his disheveled, blood-stained appearance and tear-filled eyes, he grinned widely.
You Mingxu chuckled softly and said, "Fool."
He understood this remark. He froze for a moment, then looked down at the ground, glanced at her quickly, and looked down again, acting as if he was angry and ignoring her.
You Mingxu said, "Hey, give me a couple of those zip ties, the kind you used to tie me up earlier. I call you a fool, and you refuse to admit it. You clearly wanted to save me, so why tie me up? I almost thought you were another brainless criminal."
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a few zip ties, walking over to hand them to her. As You Mingxu tied Gu Tiancheng up, she asked, "Why do you carry these around with you?"
"I don't know," he replied. "They were just in my pocket."
"But you knew how to use them right away?" You Mingxu said quickly.
He stared at her blankly, then nodded. You Mingxu thought to herself, That's odd. Police officers carry handcuffs when detaining people, but I didn't see any handcuffs in the car, on Gu Tiancheng, or on the fool. Instead, he had these simple, convenient tools commonly used by criminals.
"How about I tie you up with a couple of these?" You Mingxu asked gently. "That way, you can follow me and won't run off."
But at this, he proved clever. He glared at her, shook his head, and pouted.
You Mingxu laughed again, unfazed. Whether he was a dragon or a worm, he was in her grasp now and couldn't escape.
Just then, the sound of police sirens finally echoed from the distance in the woods, accompanied by flashing lights. It sounded like at least four or five vehicles had arrived.
You Mingxu glanced at the fool. He showed no particular reaction, suggesting he didn't instinctively fear the police.
She turned on her flashlight and waved it in their direction. Soon, there was movement as a group of people with flashlights approached. Faint sounds of crying, talking, and shouting could be heard. You Mingxu knew it was likely the three hostages who had escaped earlier, now found by the police. They had been tormented by fear all night and could finally release their emotions in tears.
"You look really strange," the fool suddenly said beside her.
"How so?"
She looked up and saw his pitch-black eyes fixed intently on her.
He said, "You're smiling, but why do I feel like you look a little sad?"
You Mingxu was taken aback for a moment before replying calmly, "Nonsense. You wouldn't understand adult matters."
He fell silent, but his dark, grape-like eyes continued to watch her intently. You Mingxu felt an inexplicable sense of awkwardness under the fool's innocent gaze. She decided to flash a sweet smile and said, "Come here, I have something to tell you."
The fool, unsuspecting, leaned in closer. You Mingxu grabbed his collar, pulling their faces close together, and blew a large puff of smoke directly at him. Caught completely off guard, the fool inhaled a mouthful of smoke. His eyes widened, his face scrunched up in discomfort, and he took a step back, coughing violently with tears welling in his eyes.You Mingxu laughed heartily, stamped out the cigarette butt, and stood up.
They were here.
At least a dozen people had arrived. The two leading the group were unfamiliar to her—likely local police—but those behind them were her own people. You Mingxu called out, "Captain Ding."
The man approaching was none other than Ding Xiongwei, captain of the Xiangcheng Yueshan District Criminal Police Brigade and You Mingxu's direct superior. Ding Xiongwei was around forty years old, of average build with a slight beer belly, appearing rather unremarkable at first glance. Beneath his thick eyebrows were a pair of calm, stern eyes. He glanced at the unconscious Gu Tiancheng at You Mingxu's feet and asked, "Is that him?"
You Mingxu nodded. "Yes. He confessed to me—not just four murders, but six. And he was about to kill three other hostages just now. I believe he's very likely the serial killer."
Ding Xiongwei then looked behind her. "Who is he?"
You Mingxu replied, "The suspect stole his car and injured him here." She pointed to her head. "His identity is unknown."
Ding Xiongwei stared at the fool for a moment, and You Mingxu added, "We need to check if he's one of our people from Tibet. Before the incident, he was driving on this road and seemed to know something about the case. The suspect thought he was a police officer."
The two unfamiliar police officers beside Ding Xiongwei said, "We haven't seen him before. We'll verify immediately."
Several pairs of eyes were fixed on the fool.
You Mingxu thought, This isn't good. Sure enough, she immediately felt her hand being gently tugged. She turned her head to see the fool's face completely fallen, head lowered, teeth biting his lower lip, as he tugged her hand again.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Can we leave?" he asked, his voice soft and weak.
You Mingxu said, "Listen, we're not leaving. These aren't bad people—they're all police officers, good people here to help you. I'm also a police officer, and they're all my comrades. Later, someone will ask you questions. Answer all of them truthfully. We'll help you find your family and friends... your parents, and take you to a safe place. Okay?"
He thought for a moment. "Okay." But he still kept his head down, holding onto her pinky finger with two of his own. You Mingxu tried to pull away but couldn't free herself. "..."
Fine, she'd deal with him later. There were more important matters at hand. As You Mingxu looked up, she caught a flicker of amusement in Ding Xiongwei's fox-like eyes. She glared at her boss, signaling with her eyes: His brain is damaged!
Ding Xiongwei waved a hand, and two police officers stepped forward, lifted the unconscious Gu Tiancheng from the ground, and handcuffed him. Gu Tiancheng, still unconscious, was carried away. Ding Xiongwei asked again, "Does he have any accomplices?"
You Mingxu said, "None discovered so far."
"How much do you know about his situation now?"
"He claims his name is Gu Tiancheng, 27 years old, from Xiangcheng. He was once an IT entrepreneur but failed in his venture and is terminally ill. Additionally, according to him, his missing girlfriend was also killed by him."
Ding Xiongwei nodded, looked her over, and said, "So, after you left the uninhabited area yesterday and received the message, you immediately cut your vacation short and headed in this direction to rendezvous with us, only to run into the suspect?"
"Exactly."
A faint smile finally appeared at the corner of Ding Xiongwei's mouth as he reached out and gave her head a firm pat. "You've got some luck! We were just closing the net, and you stumbled right into him."You Mingxu also smiled faintly. After Ding Xiongwei finished taking photos, he noticed the unidentified young man behind her glaring at him.
Ding Xiongwei said to him, "What are you glaring at?"
The fool didn't speak, probably sensing that the person before him was not to be trifled with. Then he snorted lightly, stared at the top of You Mingxu's head, raised a hand, gently touched it, and patted it a few times, as if trying to brush something off. After patting, he didn't look at Ding Xiongwei and instead raised his head to gaze at the sky.
Ding Xiongwei: "..."
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