In the morning, Cao Shi received a letter. It had been mailed from within the same city three days prior, its sender, Zhu Guang, was evident from the handwriting. "Old Jiu, Little Shi, the child is at Dongzhimen, Gao Xiaojuan is at Xizhimenn. Rescue these two before nine o'clock. Otherwise, too late… Oh, I forgot to mention, those two policemen cannot come."
Little Zhou examined the envelope, his expression baffled. "It's correct, this letter was sent three days ago. How did he know about two policemen?"
"Stop asking, can we really not go?" Wang Zeyi asked anxiously.
"The game is fair. Since Senior Brother has made his move, we will play along. Little Shi, proceed as we discussed last night."
This was Zhu Guang's game. He had mailed the letter three days ago, meticulously planning and showcasing his control. Li Jiu and Cao Shi were not to be underestimated either. Although caught in the scheme, they had anticipated today's situation last night.
"Dongzhimen is further away, Senior Brother, you go first."
It was already past eight o'clock, and there was no time to go to both locations. They had to follow Li Jiu's suggestion: Li Jiu would rescue the child, and Cao Shi would rescue Gao Xiaojuan. Just then, Teacher Wende emerged from the main house and asked, "Little Shi, have you seen our Eldest Senior Brother?"
Eldest Senior Brother Zhang Si always attended to Teacher Wende's daily needs, a ritual unchanged for years. On this particular day, Eldest Senior Brother had vanished.
"Don't delay," Li Jiu instructed Cao Shi, and without greeting Teacher Wende, he pushed his bicycle and ran out the door.
Teacher Wende watched Li Jiu depart, a slight smile gracing his lips. "He's unhappy with this old man."
"Master, last night, Eldest Senior Brother's demeanor was unusual. What happened to him?" Cao Shi was more concerned about Zhang Si's actions. Last night, Zhang Si had acted as if he didn't recognize Cao Shi, which bothered him greatly. He had never seen Eldest Senior Brother like that.
"Perhaps he sees me as old and frail, nearing my end. His fear of me has waned."
"If he's no longer afraid of you, what can he do?"
"What can that fool do? At most, he can harm others. He is inherently greedy; he likely wants to devour another's life to fuel himself."
Cao Shi didn't grasp much information, but he roughly understood Eldest Senior Brother's potential for harm. He pondered for a moment and said to Wang Zeyi, "Old Wang, let's swap clothes?"
"What for?"
"You go rescue Gao Xiaojuan."
"I… I'll go. Will that work? Mr. Li Jiu said the game is fair. What if…"
"Don't be afraid, I'll bear everything. Stick close to the city wall and ride fast."
Wang Zeyi, having swapped clothes with Cao Shi, set off to rescue Gao Xiaojuan. Cao Shi asked Little Zhou to look after Teacher Wende and left the letter with him, instructing him to deliver it to Zhu Guang.
…
Zhu Guang stood on the city wall, from where he could observe the situation at Wende Xiaoyuan. Li Jiu had gone to Dongzhimen, and Cao Shi to Xizhimenn. Zhu Guang chuckled on the wall. He waited for a while longer, seeing no action from the two policemen. He smirked, "Did you really think this would be so simple? Li Jiu, you are clever, but the game is not fair. This information was fabricated, tailor-made for you. You didn't want to choose Gao Xiaojuan, but I've tricked you into going to her. Now, I will go to Xizhimenn and kill that child. This way, Gao Xiaojuan will never be with you, Li Jiu."
He descended the wall, a black car waiting for him. Zhu Guang got in and told the driver, "Go to Dongzhimen."
The driver started the car, and it slowly rolled onto the main road. The car was much faster than a bicycle; he would arrive at Dongzhimen ahead of time. However, as they drove, Zhu Guang began to notice something was wrong.
"Where are you going?"
The driver spoke, "As fellow disciples, I will escort you out of the city."
"Cao Shi, how can it be you? How did you become the driver?"
"Senior Brother, do you know why you lost? Because you disrupted the fairness of the game. A true master doesn't tamper with the rules; they suppress their enemies within the rules. You, on the other hand, failed to do that. Dongzhimen, Xizhimenn, both are visible from the city wall when going from Wende Xiaoyuan. You likely saw clearly when Senior Brother went to Dongzhimen, but when I went to Xizhimenn, I stayed close to the wall, so you couldn't see clearly. You didn't care; where I went wasn't important. In this game, your main opponent is Li Jiu. You've been guessing everything Li Jiu can do and deliberately setting traps for him."
Zhu Guang's face contorted with rage. "How can I lose to you? How did you guess I would do this?"
"I didn't guess. From the unseen executioner, I knew your weakness: the fear of failure and a disregard for rules. That night, we were winning; we could have captured Old Qu. But you insisted on coming out, your purpose being to force Old Qu to his death. This is not playing by the game's rules. The same applies to the recent Blood Character ABC case. Old Ma's murder was almost perfect, yet you had Old Ma deliberately leave a blood character at the scene so the police could find him. You did this because you didn't know Old Ma would commit suicide. You wanted the police to force him to take his own life. But this Old Ma, having avenged himself, had no attachment to this world. You couldn't guess this because you don't understand love. Yes, human nature is selfish, and so is love, but this is an elevation of selfishness. Old Ma loved his daughter and was willing to sacrifice everything for her revenge. You, however, thought Old Ma's revenge was for himself, and that he would continue to live. You were wrong. If you hadn't deliberately racked your brains to design the ABC scheme, Cui Fang likely wouldn't have seen your plan, and Wang Zeyi wouldn't have known it involved you."
Zhu Guang fell silent. Cao Shi stopped the car in a quiet, secluded alley. "Get out, Zhu Guang. Don't let me see you again."
"On your word?"
"Last night, I saw Eldest Senior Brother's unusual behavior. Master said this morning that the fool only kills and steals other people's lives. When I went to the city wall to find you, I happened to see Eldest Senior Brother knock your driver to the ground. I hid in the shadows and shouted, scaring Eldest Senior Brother away. However, when I was driving, I noticed Eldest Senior Brother on a bicycle, chasing behind. So, I deliberately drove slowly. Now that I've stopped, Eldest Senior Brother will likely catch up soon."
"That murderous lunatic, how did he wake up?"
"You truly are Second Senior Brother, knowing Eldest Senior Brother's past. I'm afraid I can't answer that question for you. You can share Eldest Senior Brother's story with me, and I'll help you devise a plan. However, I must warn you, Eldest Senior Brother knows martial arts. If he catches up, I will escape. He should chase you, because from what happened yesterday, Eldest Senior Brother doesn't recognize me."
Zhu Guang couldn't bother with anything else. He got out of the car and fled.
…
Cao Shi drove the car, immediately changing direction towards Dongzhimen. When they arrived at Dongzhimen, Wang Zeyi had already rescued the child, Gao Ziming.
"Get in, we're going to Xizhimenn."
Wang Zeyi had just bought the child a candied hawthorn, and he had finally stopped crying. He brought the child into the car and asked in surprise, "Old Cao, you can drive?"
"When I lived in the countryside, I drove the village chief's tractor."
"Do you have a license?"
"No!"
"Where are we going now?"
"Dongzhimen, to take this child to my Senior Brother so they can be reunited."
…
Cao Shi and the others knew the location. The two of them, along with the child, quickly reached the designated spot in Dongzhimen. As they got out of the car, they were still cheerful. Cao Shi was familiar with the child and held him. Wang Zeyi, wearing Cao Shi's clothes, found them a bit loose. He noticed Cao Shi's alluring curves from behind and laughed, "Can't tell you're quite sexy!"
"Get lost!"
At that very moment, Cao Shi suddenly froze. The door was open, and he saw Li Jiu sitting dejectedly on the floor inside, cradling the already deceased Gao Xiaojuan.
"Call an ambulance, call an ambulance!"
Cao Shi yelled at Wang Zeyi, put the child down, and ran to Gao Xiaojuan's side. He could tell Gao Xiaojuan was already dead.
"Why did this happen? Li Jiu, say something!"
Li Jiu looked utterly defeated. He said in a hoarse voice, "Xiao Juan said that my arrival meant I had failed. Her father does not allow her to love an incapable Schemer. Therefore, her father prepared poison for me."
"Poison… poison?"
"Don't blame Xiao Juan; she had no choice. Gao Ji threatened her with the child's life, forcing her to marry the victor and safeguard the future of the Gao family."
Cao Shi was dumbfounded. Li Jiu hadn't expected Gao Ji to be the Schemer, nor had Cao Shi. Cao Shi knew Gao Ji was involved, but he had considered Gao Ji merely a pawn.
But Gao Ji was not; he was the Schemer, the mastermind. He used Zhu Guang's plan to determine victory. As long as Li Jiu didn't defeat Zhu Guang and didn't go to rescue the child, he was a loser.
Similarly, Gao Ji would not allow Gao Xiaojuan to still harbor feelings for Li Jiu after marrying the victor. Therefore, Gao Ji used his grandson to force his daughter to poison Li Jiu. Gao Xiaojuan couldn't do it; she loved Li Jiu. Of course, Gao Xiaojuan knew her father well; Gao Ji always kept his word. As a mother, she couldn't let her son die unjustly. Thus, she chose suicide.
Wang Zeyi didn't go to call an ambulance. After hearing Li Jiu's account, he turned and ran out.
"Wang Zeyi, where are you going?"
"Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. Such a person deserves to spend his life in prison."
Cao Shi didn't stop Wang Zeyi. Instead, he pulled the child over and held the innocent, clueless boy in his arms.
"Is my mommy sleeping?" Gao Ziming asked.
"Yes, don't disturb her. I'll take you out to play and buy you something delicious."
As Cao Shi left, tears streamed down his face. He patted Li Jiu, "Senior Brother, cry if you need to."
Li Jiu's expression was vacant, but not a single tear fell.
"Uncle, won't you cry anymore? I'll share my delicious food with you. Or, when mommy wakes up, I'll ask her to buy you something delicious."