I dont know how long I was unconscious. Vaguely, I felt someone moving my body. A spark in my confused mind and I woke up.

  The first thing I saw was the moon in the sky. A bright half-circle, shining brightly. The treetops high above were all illuminated. Then I felt a pair of gentle hands lift my head up and place a soft object behind it.

  I was in the dark, watching her profile. She didnt notice I woke up, and after a daze, she lowered her head and hugged me into her arms.

  This time I was stunned.

  My face was pressed against her neck, the breath on her body soft, warm and sweet. She whispered: "Wu Yu, you wont die, will you? The ambulance is still 20 minutes away, dont just die like this... I... cant accept it."

  Although I was in great pain, my mood suddenly became very good. As if possessed by a demon, I kissed her slender and smooth collarbone.

  After kissing, I felt a little regretful. What am I doing?

  She froze immediately. I called out: "Tan Jiao." She let go of me, with a surprised face: "Youre awake!" I said: "If you didnt wake up, you really thought I was dead." I held onto her arm and struggled to stand up. She looked at me worriedly: "Theres a big lump on the back of your head, and theres a cut thats bleeding!"

  I said, "Its nothing, just a bump." She grabbed my arm with both hands, her eyes wide open and silent. The usual arrogance was gone, like a small animal in tension. I couldnt help but laugh again. She looked at me speechlessly and said, "Youre still laughing? Are you stupid?"

  I asked her: "How did you find this place?"

  "So why did you run so fast? Lone hero? My car has GPS positioning, I saw that you stopped the car here and didnt move, so I came to find you. Later, I called your phone at the foot of the mountain, but you didnt answer. I felt that something was wrong, so I came to look for you. Luckily I did."

  I looked at her calf and found many fine blood marks scratched by thorns, and there were also some on her wrist. But she seemed to be completely indifferent.

  I care about it.

  I held one of her hands, my fingers gently caressing it, and asked, "Arent you scared?" She didnt move, replying, "Whats there to be afraid of?" In the dim light, her eyes were so bright. After a while, she withdrew her hand, as if nothing had happened before, and asked, "What exactly happened?"

  I had her support me and walk towards that grove. As expected, the lights there had gone out, people and birds all disappeared without a trace. Ran away.

  I had her immediately notify Shen Shiyan to come over, and then I told her everything that had happened before and what I had seen.

  When the police arrived, we sat down next to a big rock. The surroundings were still very dark, with only her flashlight in her hand, turning on and off, flashing.

  "Whats so special about Zhu Zihan?" she asked.

  I said: "The kid doesnt look like anything special."

  She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment before saying: "There must be a reason."

  "Uh-huh."

  I looked up at the sky, and tonight there were particularly few stars. The eternal and unchanging sky seemed especially desolate. I reached into my pocket for a cigarette, just as I was about to light it, the flame illuminated her eyes, which shone brightly as she gazed at me, asking: "You cant bear to part with cigarettes?"

  I took a drag on my cigarette and replied, "Which construction worker doesnt smoke?"

  She smiled. That smile seemed to have some very deep meaning.

  I took out a cigarette and asked, "Want to try one?"

  She shook her head: "I dont like women smoking."

  I said: "Its okay, I dont like it either."

  Then I found her hand moving back and forth, unexpectedly pulling out the wild grass on the ground, then rubbing it in her palm and crushing it before throwing it away. I looked at her little action and said, "Didnt you say that everything has to do with you, and youre here to crack the case? Whats your insight now, great detective?"

  She wiped her hands clean and said: "You see, this man is not kidnapping children for money. If it were for money, why wouldnt he kidnap a child from a wealthy family? As you said, there are no obvious signs of abuse or torture, nor is it to satisfy his own desires. If we say he looks like a mentally unstable person who randomly kidnaps children, then his actions are very swift and decisive, with strong execution and judgment. Moreover, the children he kidnaps all follow a certain pattern. And he doesnt sell them off, but instead hides them here. What do you think hes after?"

  I said: "Not for money, not for profit, nor for desire. When acting, it is either for love or for revenge."

  Tan Jiao was taken aback, seemingly not expecting me to say that. She said: "Hmm... youre right, but we can observe his behavior and get a better sense of his mindset. I noticed that the victims he chose were all from the same area. Those two 7-8 year olds looked particularly scrawny, like they were only 5-6 years old. So his age range is also very specific. Theyre all ordinary family kids. He went to so much trouble just to keep them captive here. Its more like... hes accompanying them."

  I stared at her. There was a sound of crickets in the grass, and in the distance, at the foot of the mountain, police lights were flashing. The police had arrived.

  "I said: According to the polices information, he is a habitual thief who has received training in theft. Its been some years now."

  Tan Jiao said: "Those thieves controlled by theft crime groups mostly have no family. Some of them... were themselves kidnapped children."

  We both fell silent for a while. She said: "But what does he have to do with that ship, and our affair...?"

  The image of that person conducting the birds appeared in my mind, his face with a twisted smile that seemed to be both joyful and sorrowful. I said: "Tan Jiao, when you were on the boat, did you see this person?"

  Tan Jiao was stunned and said: "No, I dont remember."

  I said: "I dont either. The truth can only be known by catching him."