by Lei Mi
After a long moment, he tore open Sun Pu's pocket and grabbed the keys. Sun Pu finally exhaled.
Looking at Sun Pu's startled face, Fang Mu smirked and stood up. He slowly and clearly said, "Is that how you wanted to die? It won't be that easy. You'll have to wait for the execution ground."
He pulled Professor Qiao's fountain pen from his pocket and waved it in front of Sun Pu's face. "You think this is just an ordinary pen?"
He turned around and walked over to Tai Wei.
Tai Wei sighed with relief. He was about to praise Fang Mu, when he saw the student do something very odd. With one hand, Fang Mu reached inside his collar and seemed to pull something out.
Sun Pu lay where he was on the floor for a few seconds, staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly his eyes went wide.
He struggled to his feet; one of his hands brushed against Fang Mu's knife.
With a surge, he seemed suddenly imbued with supernatural strength. Leaping forward, he grabbed hold of the blade and sprinted toward Fang Mu.
Tai Wei saw the attack coming. He felt his heart seize up. Just as he was about to warn Fang Mu, he was dumbstruck by the look on the student's face.
Fang Mu was gazing casually at Tai Wei, a faint smile playing across his lips.
That's right, it seemed to say. I know exactly what Sun Pu is doing behind my back. And I also know that he has my knife in his hand.
Calmly, in a controlled manner, Fang Mu tore the bullet from his necklace and snapped it in the pistol chamber. He gently cocked the gun. With a click, the hammer fell back into place.
He even had time to raise an eyebrow at Tai Wei.
You still remember this bullet? his look seemed to ask.
He turned and raised the gun. Suddenly the figure before Fang Mu wasn't merely Sun Pu; it was simultaneously – impossibly – Wu Han and Sun Pu, seemingly to merge, both raising the same knife and facing Fang Mu.
It doesn't matter who you are. This case is closed. Fang Mu pulled the trigger.
In an instant a small hole appeared in Sun Pu's forehead and his head snapped back, absorbing the blast. A stream of blood and bone burst from the back of his skull as the bullet exited.
He fell back onto the floor.
Ding. A brass shell struck lightly against the floor. Tai Wei's mouth was wide open, and not until the sound of the gunshot slowly disappeared from Cell 7 did it finally close.
Fang Mu slowly placed the gun on the floor, feeling as if the last bit of strength had been pulled out of him. For a moment he looked at Sun Pu's body where it twitched on the floor.
Then he turned, unlocked Tai Wei's shackles, and helped him off the cross. The cop's whole body was stiff.
Doing his best to avoid Tai Wei's puzzled, fearful eyes, Fang Mu said quietly: "Come on; let's get out of here."
EPILOGUE
At the Jiangbin City police lockup, Fang Mu slept peacefully for several nights. He didn't dream at all.
As he had requested, Tai Wei arranged it so that he could have his own cell. All of his meals were takeout, and each morning he was given the day's newspaper and a pack of expensive Zhonghua cigarettes.
When he didn't feel like doing anything else, Fang Mu would lie on his iron bed and look out the window, silently watching the clouds pass and day turn to night.
Occasionally Fang Mu would think of those who had passed, the things that had happened. But now he was much more at peace and it seemed like it would be difficult for anything to shake him.
So this is all that it feels like to have killed someone.
A few days later, officers from the PSB discovered an abundance of evidence in Sun Pu's home proving that he had committed all the murders. Someone was then sent to Jiangbin City University to inform them of the situation, and Meng Fanzhe's name was officially cleared. At the same time, it was determined that Fang Mu had acted in self-defense and the case was closed. Tai Wei's testimony had been the critical factor.
Fang Mu's only regret was that he had been unable to attend Professor Qiao's memorial service.
It was Tai Wei who came to let Fang Mu out of his cell.
The day was clear and bright. As Fang Mu walked out of the detention house, the sun was shining overhead. He bathed in its warmth, his whole body pleasantly tingling. Like many of those on the street around him, he couldn't help but raise his arms and stretch.
When they reached the jeep, Tai Wei gave Fang Mu his belongings, including the fountain pen. Fang Mu looked the pen over for a long time, and then placed it carefully in his breast pocket.
Tai Wei watched this and then suddenly asked: "You did all that on purpose, right?" He pointed at the pen. "That's just a regular pen."
Fang Mu didn't respond. He knew that Tai Wei hadn't mentioned what happened with the pen when he testified.
Seeing that Fang Mu wasn't going to answer, Tai Wei didn't ask anything else, just silently started the jeep.
When they reached the school gates later, something suddenly occurred to Tai Wei.
"Oh, that's right." He searched in his pockets as the jeep sat at the school entry. "I meant to give this to you, too."
He handed something to Fang Mu. It was the dagger.
Fang Mu didn't immediately take it from him. For a few seconds he just stared at it, not saying a word. Finally he grabbed it.
"I'm gonna head back," he said, his voice low. Then he hopped out of the vehicle.
After he had gone a few steps toward the gates, Tai Wei called out to him.
This guy is always like this, huh? thought Fang Mu.
He turned around.
Frowning, Tai Wei looked into his eyes.
After a long moment, he asked: "You remember how I once recommended that you become a cop?"
"Yeah."
Tai Wei looked down, thinking deeply about something. A few seconds later, he looked back up. In a determined tone, he said, "I take it back."
He drove off.
Fang Mu watched the jeep disappear into the distance. Then he smiled, turned, and walked through the gate.
Today was the last day of finals. Unable to wait any longer, the students who had finished their tests had already packed their stuff into boxes and were heading to the train station. Amid this crowd of homeward-bound students, Fang Mu walked slowly toward Dormitory 5.
When he was back inside Room 304, Fang Mu sat on the bed and looked at all the papers still stacked on the desk. Touching them, he found they were covered with dust.
After sitting in silence for a while, he began to organize his things.
At this point he had finished everything he needed to do. There was no reason to stay here any longer. That afternoon he would go to the graduate student office and apply to switch dorms.
Fang Mu didn't have much stuff, and before long he had packed all of it up. After brushing the dust from his hands, he grabbed his washbasin and towel and then opened the door.
He frowned.
A bunch of people were standing in the hallway, Du Yu among them. They were all looking at Fang Mu as he walked out of the room.
He was stunned.
Du Yu walked over and stood in front of him. He looked at him for several seconds, and then at Room 304.
"You packed your stuff?" he asked, turning back to Fang Mu. "You're leaving here?"
"Yeah," Fang Mu said. Not wanting to have to say anything else, he walked past Du Yu.
"Hey!" Du Yu called from behind him. "What about your promise?"
Fang Mu turned back around. "What?"
Du Yu gave him a cold look. "You promised me that when you found the killer I would be the first to know."
Fang Mu was briefly taken aback. Shaking his head, he smirked and then turned to go.
"You're just gonna leave like this?"
Unable to help himself, Fang Mu was about to say, "What else do you want me to do?" but when he turned around, he saw that Du Yu was smiling at him.
"What if someone else like Sun Pu appears? What are we supposed to do then
?" Du Yu, nudged Zou Tuanjie, who was standing beside him. Taking the hint, Zou Tuanjie winked at Fang Mu and then waved the guys around him into Room 304.
Du Yu was still looking at Fang Mu as he had before. "So, you have to stay."
He slowly walked over to Fang Mu as their dorm-mates bustled about around them, moving Fang Mu's stuff back into Room 313.
Du Yu stood in front of Fang Mu for a moment, and then gave him a sudden punch to the shoulder.
"There's some more good news. Liu Jianjun called me today. He's doing a lot better, and says he'll probably be back real soon."
Two months later.
Winter was already almost over. Still wearing a thick cotton coat, Fang Mu walked through Changhong City Teacher's College campus. Before long he was drenched with perspiration.
Liu Jianjun had just sent Fang Mu a text message, telling him happily that he was already able to walk slowly on his own. As Fang Mu smelled the sweet scent of trees budding in the air, his mood felt just as brilliant as the weather.
The ice had already thawed on Jing Lake and Fang Mu could see the water drift back and forth like fine gauze. On the opposite bank where a patch of willow trees had once stood, there was now a small store. Its loudspeaker was playing a familiar song: Boundless as the Sea and Sky.
"I chased you through the wind and rain, I lost you in the mist, the sea and sky will never change, but will we stay the same…? "
Fang Mu found a rock on the bank of the lake and sat down. He thought of how he had looked two years ago, when he had to walk around with a cane. A smile came to his lips.
"In the blink of an eye I lost myself, and the love in my heart grew dim – Who will still love me…? "
He pulled the knife from his pocket and looked it over.
The bottom of the dark-green handle used to be bumpy from having been burnt in the flames. Now the material had already been made smooth and shiny from the caress of his hand.
He unsheathed the blade and its sharp edge glinted in the sunlight. Gently, Fang Mu ran his thumb along the serrated edge, feeling the ridges against his skin.
The knife had already followed two owners, had witnessed too many things. Back when it was gradually put together on some crude assembly line, it probably never expected that it would lead such a full life.
Now it just lay in Fang Mu's hands, happily enjoying its owner's attentions, as if it had already forgotten what a terrifying weapon it had been when held by those two other people.
In the end, a knife was just a knife.
Why must people hold them responsible for so much?
Fang Mu laughed quietly. What does a knife know about responsibility? In the final analysis, only we can take the blame.
He stood up, weighed the knife in his hand, and then suddenly launched it over the lake.
The knife shone in the sunlight as it arced through the air. Then with a plop it dropped beneath the water. A few small ripples drifted out from the spot, but soon the lake was just as placid as before.
Goodbye, Wu Han.
（To be continued）
BONUS
Fang Mu
——Eastern Crime series Book#2
SKINNER’S BOX
"There is no so-called fortune; everything is but trial, or punishment, or recompense."
-- Voltaire
PROLOGUE
Teachers' Day
The city was still shrouded in afternoon smog. Particles of an indistinct texture seemed to drift through the air, frivolous yet quite real. On the roads that slashed the metropolis into disarray, an armada of cars oozed along like a slow flood of steel as if they, too, were feeling overwhelmed by the oppressive atmosphere. It was the most languid part of the day in this heavily polluted city of industry.
A drop of the flood's water deviated from its original direction of travel, following an overpass to wind steeply downward. After passing over a spider's web of tangled streets, it stopped in front of an old-fashioned three-story building.
Below it, a van door on which was printed Changhong City TV: 'Make Your Dreams Come True' Production Team abruptly slid open and a few people jumped out of the vehicle, their bodies bustling with nimble activity.
One of them, a rather pretty young woman, ran her fingers through her hair and addressed the driver. "You're sure this is the right place?" When he gave an affirmative answer, she turned to the director nearby. "What time did you arrange the meeting with Teacher Qin?"
"Two o'clock." The director was browsing through the recording schedule in his hands. "The old lady said she had to tidy up a bit so the place wouldn't be so messy."
The young woman glanced at her watch. "Hmm. Close enough. Hey, what about Little Luo?" She looked around and then walked to the front of the vehicle and knocked on the passenger-side window.
"Oy, get out. What are you doing staring off into space like that?"
A young man wearing a gloomy expression was sitting inside the van, gazing steadily at the three-story building. Upon hearing the woman shout at him, he took a deep breath, gathered a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums from the backseat, and got out of the van.
The woman had already struck a pose in front of the building with a microphone in her hand and was chattering through her lines in preparation. When she saw Little Luo still standing there not moving, she impatiently waved him over to take a spot next to her.
As soon as the director signaled to start recording, the woman's face broke into a professional smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Guan Li, program host for 'Make Your Dreams Come True.' We are now standing right downstairs from the home of Little Luo's homeroom teacher from high school, Teacher Qin. In a moment we will take Little Luo to visit Teacher Qin, whom he has looked forward to seeing for a very long time." She positioned the microphone in front of Little Luo. "Little Luo, it's Teachers' Day today; if you don't mind my asking, are you excited to be seeing your mentor on such a special day as this? The teacher who once so profoundly changed your destiny?"
Little Luo stared woodenly at the camera lens for a long while before a single word squeezed past his teeth: "Yep."
Guan Li felt extremely vexed at his lack of expression, but a smile still beamed across her own face. She gave a small laugh. "Little Luo's classmates must be so excited. I don't think anyone would be able to describe in words how it must feel to be moments away from meeting a mentor you haven't seen in years. So okay, I'll just ask our viewing friends to please follow our camera with us as we go pay a visit to this kindly and venerable old teacher."
As soon as the director said "Cut," the smile on Guan Li's face disappeared. Knitting her brows, she barked at Little Luo. "Little Luo, your face just now was too rigid. You need to show an expression that says you are so excited you can't wait. Don't be nervous; loosen up a bit."
Little Luo did not answer. He just stood there stiffly, holding the bouquet and staring at the building, not moving.
"And these flowers, yellow chrysanthemums…" Guan Li's mouth twitched. "Never mind; there's no time to get something different." She wrung her hands. "Okay, let's go upstairs."
After passing through a grimy narrow corridor on the third floor, the file of people stopped in front of a metal door set into the left wall. The director signaled that they should shoot a scene of everyone entering the apartment. When everything was ready, Guan Li's face recovered its smile as she raised her hand to knock, and the camera went into action.
"Who's there?" an aged female voice sounded from the other side of the door.
"We're from the TV network. If you please, is Teacher Qin home?"
The door opened to reveal a thin, withered woman standing in the door frame. The smile that appeared on her face seemed a bit forced and from time to time she glanced at the camera out of the corner of her eye.
"Please, come in; please, come in."
It was an old-fashioned two-bedroom apartment. The furniture in the room was old but had all been neatly arranged. Everyone stood in the liv
ing room, making what had already been an extremely narrow space feel suddenly overcrowded. Teacher Qin, upon seeing the smiling Guan Li and the video camera with its flashing red lights, appeared quite overwhelmed.
Guan Li took Teacher Qin by the hand and spoke to the camera in a sweet voice. "Teacher Qin, first of all, happy Teachers' Day to you! In celebration of this day, we've brought you a special present." She pointed a finger at the crowd of people. "A student who has come all the way here just to see you."
Little Luo walked out from behind the cameraman, still holding the bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums in his hands. He stood in front of Teacher Qin and looked her up and down in silence.
Guan Li glared hard at Little Luo and gestured with her hands for him to advance. Hadn't it been agreed in advance that he should embrace the teacher warmly?
Little Luo paid no attention to her. Suddenly he opened his mouth and asked, "Are you Teacher Qin Yumei?"
Teacher Qin seemed puzzled by his behavior. "Yes. Ah, you…"
"From the high school attended by children of people working at the paper?"
"That's right. What year did you graduate?"
Little Luo's expression suddenly relaxed. He even smiled. "No, I wasn't a student of yours. Do you know Shen Xiang?"
Teacher Qin's brows wrinkled slightly, as if struggling to find a long-forgotten name in the depths of her memory. "Shen Xiang… Shen Xiang…" Her eyes widened. "You… you're…"
Without answering, Little Luo extended the bouquet of flowers toward her. Absently, Teacher Qin reached out to accept them, but before her fingers touched the stems, Little Luo had drawn a knife out from behind the bouquet.
She immediately felt an icy cold object pierce her abdomen.
CHAPTER