Fan Shuhua smiled and said, "No one can predict what will happen three years from now, but planting an unpredictable time bomb beside you must be an interesting thing."
Though her tone remained gentle, Yin Feng felt the person before him growing increasingly unfamiliar.
"Oh? And what about using Ding Xiongwei? Was that also for amusement?" Yin Feng chuckled. "He seems utterly devoted to you."
Fan Shuhua's expression remained calm. "I wouldn't call it using him. I happened to visit him at the police station, he happened to want to question me as the portrait artist for the case from twenty years ago, and you happened to be alone next door."
Yin Feng asked, "Was it difficult to hypnotize me?"
Fan Shuhua smiled. "Extremely easy. I understand you - the desires in your heart are too strong."
Yin Feng fell silent for a moment. That afternoon, he had gone alone to the police station to review case files from twenty years ago. His memories from that period - Ding Xiongwei's smile when mentioning a visitor, footsteps in the corridor, the clock on the wall, time passing unnoticed...
"That night at the hospital," Yin Feng said. "If I hadn't chased after Chen Feng, wouldn't your plan have failed?"
Fan Shuhua replied, "It wouldn't have failed. If you hadn't gone, Chen Feng would have successfully killed Li Mingdi, and you would still be implicated. I could have found another opportunity to hypnotize you again. What was delightful was that you went, allowing me to complete shaping your memories and identity. Everything fell perfectly into place! Such a good child."
"So the person who lured me through the corridor was you?" Yin Feng said. "Actually, you had already hypnotized me in that corner room."
A detail from that night surfaced in Yin Feng's mind: chasing that familiar figure to the corridor corner, only to find no one there. Opening the storage room door to complete darkness. That was the moment.
"Yes."
Outside the window, flashing lights grew more frequent, footsteps becoming more distinct. Many people were invading this house. Yet the two inside seemed unaware.
"Why, teacher?" Yin Feng asked. "Why do you believe 'all good has perished, all evil prevails'? Can't you see what the Punishers are doing? They act recklessly, hunting fugitives. What gives them the right to do this? Not only that, they cultivate criminals, nurture Punishers. Behind this cultivation lies innocent lives. This kind of 'Punishing Evil' has long been distorted. Instead, it breeds more evil from evil. Can't you see this? Why persist in this reckless course?"
Facing Yin Feng's cold interrogation, Fan Shuhua appeared remarkably composed. She said, "The implementation of any new ideology, any new way of societal existence, inherently requires sacrifice. Whether we survive or perish isn't important. Seeking truth is what matters most."
Yin Feng shook his head. "No, life itself is what matters most."
Fan Shuhua suddenly burst into loud laughter, showing such intense emotion for the first time since Yin Feng entered the room. Laughing, she said, "What do I hear? A child born with psychological disorders lecturing me that life itself is what matters most. Weren't you indifferent to many things and people? Didn't you remain unmoved even when facing the most brutal crime scenes? What do you want to do now, become the godfather of goodness? Unfortunately, goodness only makes people weak - evil is what protects us.""But I'm still trying to love others!" Yin Feng declared resolutely. "And there are people willing to love me too. Teacher, what about you? What has your life experienced? You keep talking about faith and truth. But where does the truth in your eyes come from? Human psychology always has its causes - such a simple principle needs no reminder from me. So what has your life endured that made you believe life no longer matters? You say my heart is full of desires, but aren't you the same? You're so desperate to prove your so-called truth because the original beliefs of your life have been destroyed, haven't you?"
Fan Shuhua gazed coldly at him.
Her originally calm, ice-like face finally showed a trace of cracking expression.
She didn't believe his words. He was her student, everything he learned came from her teachings - how dare he lecture her now? So many years had passed, childhood events were as distant as cosmic dust, unable to stir even the slightest ripple in her heart. She believed herself long healed, long overcome - did he think she was a first-year psychology student? That her faith stemmed from childhood trauma?
Yet when Yin Feng questioned her like this, she still immediately recalled those events. Her mother's painful crying and weakness, being taken by strangers, her father's indifference. Corpses everywhere, blood everywhere. Actually, every time she remembered, there would still be strange feelings. She was only two or three years old then, couldn't remember everything clearly, had no impression of the events at the time. Instead, as she grew older - 5, 6, 10 years old... that child, foolishly standing in the pool of blood, even the shapes of the corpses, the bloody hole in her mother's chest, her father's grim dying face - all appeared increasingly clearly in her memory. Later, she couldn't even distinguish whether these came from memory or were additions from her imagination.
...
"Enough." Fan Shuhua said, her face showing a gloominess Yin Feng had never seen before. "They're about to come in and make the arrest, aren't they? It seems you've collected sufficient evidence. Did Ding Xiongwei send you?"
Yin Feng replied: "I requested to come, he didn't object. The evidence is indeed as you see - we found surveillance footage of those three crucial hypnosis sessions where you appeared at the crime scenes. These past few days, I also had your phone calls monitored and recorded your conversations with Yin Chen."
Fan Shuhua revealed a faint smile: "Planning before acting - you have my style. If you were willing to join the Punisher, why would I have to settle for Yin Chen? What would those police officers matter then?"
Yin Feng sighed: "You're still obstinately misguided."
Fan Shuhua smiled. She turned to look out the window, through the light and darkness, as if gazing at another place.
Yin Feng said: "They should have taken action over there by now."
Tears glistened in Fan Shuhua's eyes: "They... what a pity."
Behind them, footsteps grew increasingly closer - someone had already reached the study door.
Yin Feng stood up, bowed deeply, and said: "Teacher, you're truly mistaken."
Fan Shuhua seemed not to hear.
Yin Feng turned and left. Seeing the person standing at the door, he unprecedentedly patted that person's shoulder. That person remained silent as a mountain.Suddenly, Fan Shuhua yanked open a drawer, grabbed something, and threw it into her mouth. In the nick of time, Ding Xiongwei, who was at the door, lunged forward and seized her hand, then clamped his fingers around her jaw. Glaring furiously, he slapped the object from Fan Shuhua’s grasp. Her face pale, she pleaded, "Lao Ding, save me some dignity."
Ding Xiongwei took a deep breath, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and snapped them on her wrists. "Fan Shuhua, you’re under arrest," he declared.
A swarm of police officers rushed into the room, while Yin Feng stepped out alone.
You Mingxu stood at the entrance to the courtyard.
He walked over and, without a second thought, pulled her into his embrace, pressing down on her like a mountain descending through the cold night.
You Mingxu asked, "Feeling rough?"
Yin Feng chuckled softly, "A bit. I’ve always seen her as an elder—someone warm and strong, like you. I’ve never seen her so twisted before."
"You still have me," You Mingxu said. "You have a lot more."
Yin Feng lifted his gaze to hers, shadows shifting in his eyes. "I still have you. I still have a lot more," he repeated slowly, his arms tightening around her so firmly it almost hurt.
Xu Mengshan and another officer escorted Fan Shuhua out. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she kept her head lowered, avoiding all gazes, and climbed into a police van.
Ding Xiongwei stood at the doorway, watching.
Just then, an officer hurried to the entrance and announced, "We’ve found something!"
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