Coming to Myself

A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, under a bright moon and sparse stars.

It was an old house with a small, self-contained courtyard. Its location in the city was neither too remote nor too central, with a few scattered neighbors nearby.

In the courtyard stood an aged locust tree, its dense shade covering the black-tiled roof and white walls. The yard was tidy. Under the streetlamp, the shadows of branches and leaves swayed on the walls. Through the window, a faint light could be seen deep inside the house.

So if you stood at the doorstep, you might have the illusion of peaceful, tranquil years.

The convoy stopped some distance from the house, and people dispersed, vanishing into the night in an instant. You Mingxu and Yin Feng also got out of the car and slowly approached the house.

You Mingxu asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?"

Yin Feng replied, "I want to talk to her alone."

You Mingxu glanced at him a couple more times. He had grown noticeably thinner compared to a few days ago. His eyes were deep and unreadable, revealing neither joy nor anger. There was a time when she felt he had warmed up considerably. But now, he seemed to have reverted to the Yin Feng of old—cold, stern, and unapproachable.

The two reached the courtyard gate.

You Mingxu unholstered her pistol and handed it to him. He took it and said, "She won't do anything to me. She doesn't want to kill me."

You Mingxu said, "I don't care about your mysterious back-and-forth. If the situation turns bad, I'll rush in and arrest her."

"Mm."

Yin Feng reached out, pinched her cheek, then turned and pushed open the courtyard gate, walking inside.

He reached the house entrance, didn't knock, but directly unlocked the door and entered.

The door closed loosely behind him.

You Mingxu watched silently.

Ever since they made contact online that day, he had disappeared without a trace for a full four days.

Until yesterday afternoon, when he suddenly appeared downstairs at her place, startling the officers on duty. By the time she ran downstairs, he was being handcuffed. He looked up at her with a faint smile, then raised an object in his hand and said, "Take me to see Ding Xiongwei. This is evidence."

Overnight, the situation reversed, turning danger into safety.

And due to his insistence, today's arrest operation included this solitary figure walking ahead.

You Mingxu suddenly thought, it hadn't been easy for him to grow into the person he was today.

Now, he was about to lose one more thing.

Xu Mengshan jogged over.

You Mingxu asked, "Is everything in place?"

Xu Mengshan looked grave. "Yes! Everyone's in position, the network is cut, and mobile signals are blocked. Not even a fly could escape. Is Teacher Yin really going to be okay in there?"

You Mingxu replied, "He says he'll be fine, and I trust him. Besides, with us watching, we can storm the place anytime."

Xu Mengshan smiled. "Alright." He glanced behind them and asked vaguely, "...Still in the car?"

You Mingxu answered, "Yes."

In truth, Fan Shuhua had vaguely heard some commotion, but she was reading a book and didn't want to be distracted. Moreover, she truly hadn't expected this.

Until footsteps approached.

Someone entered uninvited, his steps steady. When she looked up, she noticed faint lights flickering outside the window.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still in Fan Shuhua's ears.

Then she lowered her head and continued reading.

The man walked to the table, sat down across from her without invitation, and called out softly, "Teacher."

Fan Shuhua slowly sighed and put down her book.In Yin Feng's eyes, his mentor looked no different from before. Late at night, a solitary lamp, a book, and a cup of tea. A white shirt, fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. It was a tranquil temperament steeped in the sea of books. So even now, as the two locked eyes, there was not a trace of panic in the mentor's gaze; instead, there was even a hint of the same kindly smile as in the past.

"When did you figure it out?" she asked.

Yin Feng replied, "On the third night of my escape. It took some time afterward to gather evidence."

Fan Shuhua showed a surprised expression. "Much faster than I expected." She then frowned and said, "If you had been just one day later, after tonight, what I needed to do would have been finished."

Yin Feng said, "You won't finish it."

Both fell silent for a few seconds. Yin Feng continued, "I didn't do it alone. You calculated quite accurately—after that night, I almost believed in the existence of a second personality. You know me well... We are all people standing on the edge of the abyss. Once we touch this forbidden zone in our hearts, we are easily swayed by emotions, unable to see the truth clearly and lacking confidence. It's like having a knife already embedded in your body—touching it will hurt. And the logic you set up was complete and reasonable."

"Then why..."

Yin Feng smiled. "You calculated me correctly, but you didn't account for You Mingxu. She... is the type who won't turn back until she hits a wall, someone who would defend me even if the sky were falling. It was she who reminded me, using the logic of an experienced detective. She said that where something happens, the most hidden roots lie there. And they are often concealed in inconspicuous details. You see, even you couldn't erase all those details. So, like someone waking abruptly from a dream, I saw the truth."

Fan Shuhua suddenly understood. "Her... Ah, these detectives really are commendably brave." She seemed to recall something, her expression momentarily dazed.

Yin Feng rested his hands on his knees, his demeanor exceptionally calm, still resembling the respectful student facing his mentor. Many memories intertwined, forming a heavy feeling that settled in his heart. He recalled the first time he attended Professor Fan's lecture—this renowned psychology mentor stood on the podium, speaking eloquently and elegantly, radiating wisdom from head to toe. Unlike now, where she faintly revealed a cold and sinister temperament.

And all those times they discussed professional psychology topics—had Fan Shuhua ever shown any preference for good or evil? Probably not. She was extremely cautious, leaving no room for error. Otherwise, after all these years, no one would have known that the Punisher Organization also had a "her." But was it during their countless sessions of answering questions, resolving doubts, and intellectual clashes that she completed her observation and selection of him?

Later, after Yin Feng earned his doctorate, he also chose some people, took them in, and reformed them. He didn't deliberately hide it; anyone who paid attention could know. Then, he began to sense a pair of eyes following him, watching him, everywhere. Yet no matter how hard he investigated, he couldn't uncover it, sometimes driven nearly to madness. They were the eyes of a venomous snake, dark and chilling to the bone.

So the owner of those eyes was her.

Yin Feng gazed into her eyes, which remained clear and bright even in the darkness.

He asked, "When did it start? Was it when Chen Feng attended the school anniversary three years ago?"Fan Shuhua showed an approving expression and said, "It needs to be even earlier than that."

Yin Feng nodded: "At that time, Chen Feng hadn't been by my side for long. Taking advantage of the school anniversary event, hypnotizing a psychologically distorted version of him would have been effortless for you. That's why he saw me with Su Ziyi, saw me imprisoning and torturing Li Mingdi. Perhaps you even showed him real torture videos, let him see that secret room, making him believe it was all real. Could it be that you were already planning to use me as a scapegoat from that time onward?"