The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.

Su Xiaomeng felt a chill down her spine.

Her eyes widened suddenly, looking at Shan Mingxu with fear,

"What did you say? Dead?!"

Shan Mingxu raised his sword-like eyebrows and nodded,

"Yes, dead."

"Then..."

At this moment, Su Xiaomeng truly felt a chill.

"I checked the archives of the Public Security Bureau on this man named Wu Yao. Fifteen years ago, both he and Wu Rong were part of the criminal police brigade, and combating drug trafficking was a very important task then."

"Once, the organization decided to send someone undercover into the drug lord’s lair."

"Aunt, you don’t need me to say, you should know how dangerous undercover work is."

Su Xiaomeng took a deep breath and nodded.

"At that time, the person originally designated by the public security was Wu Rong. But Wu Rong’s wife was about to give birth, so Wu Yao volunteered to go undercover instead of his brother."

Joining the police force, becoming a criminal detective, and being part of the anti-drug team essentially meant making a choice not to fear death.

"No one suspected Wu Rong of being a coward or afraid of death, and naturally, Wu Yao wouldn’t either, but what Wu Rong really thought, no one knew."

"Later, this drug lord’s den was busted, and three criminal detectives died in the line of duty, one of whom was Wu Yao."

"..."

Su Xiaomeng shivered, feeling a tingling on her scalp.

Inadvertently, they touched upon an older, darker event.

"Then... the person on the yacht who claims to be Wu Yao..."

Su Xiaomeng’s expression was somewhat dazed, trying hard to calm her emotions, but this wasn’t just a story—it was a real event that happened somewhere.

"Three possibilities. One is what you’re thinking now, that the Wu Yao on the yacht is simply not human."

"..."

"But I don’t believe there are ghosts in this world."

Shan Mingxu declared with certainty.

Su Xiaomeng ruffled her own hair, "Actually, I don’t believe it either, it’s just that you make it sound so eerie and terrifying."

"Second possibility, the person on the yacht is not Wu Yao, but knows Wu Yao. He wants to use Wu Yao’s identity to achieve a certain goal."

"..."

Su Xiaomeng felt this speculation was also unsettling.

"Third possibility..."

Shan Mingxu’s gaze fell directly on Su Xiaomeng, meeting hers,

"Is that Wu Yao is not dead. He may be living in this world under a different identity."

The truth seemed like a black hole with immense gravitational pull, continually drawing irrelevant people in, making people explore deeper, yet the more they probe, the less clear it becomes.

Su Xiaomeng listened to Shan Mingxu’s analysis in silence...

Of the three possibilities, Xiaomeng’s heart leaned more towards the third one.

However...

If Wu Yao isn’t dead but is living under a different identity, it seems like an implication...

Her husband is also considered deceased in the eyes of the world...

Everything feels like history repeating itself, whether this man using the name "Wu Yao" truly wants to help her husband or has another agenda?

"Aunt?"

Shan Mingxu saw Su Xiaomeng staring vacantly at a spot and couldn’t help calling to her.

Su Xiaomeng lifted her eyes,

"Huh?"

"Did you think of something?"

Su Xiaomeng took a light breath,

"I didn’t really think of anything, I just felt somewhat emotional."

She wiped the tears that had unwittingly wet the corners of her eyes,

"Life is just about eating, sleeping... and bickering with the person you love... I used to think it was very simple, very simple... Looking at it now, sometimes it’s even more complicated and profound than a movie plot."

"Yeah."

Shan Mingxu nodded.

"So, what should we do next?"

Su Xiaomeng asked him.

Before Xiaomeng came, Shan Mingxu had already thought it through, and now that Su Xiaomeng asked, he immediately answered,

"Over a month has passed, many clues have become more uncertain, but I believe at that time Wu Yao and Uncle at least escaped from the sea, we searched the sea for a long time, that’s pretty much confirmed." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Uncle was seriously injured, Wu Yao couldn’t have taken a severely injured person and escaped from under the eyes of so many police officers quickly, I think Wu Yao was prepared in advance, and after disguising Yin Shixiu’s death news, the two wouldn’t leave Tianjin Port right away."

"So we should first explore the small towns near Tianjin Port. If Uncle had stopped there, he would have inevitably left traces."

"Then... I’ll go find someone to handle this matter, I..."

"Aunt, don’t rush."

"..."

"Those who forced Uncle into this situation are still free, whether it’s Big Uncle Yin Shiqing, unknown Wu Rong, or the Rong Family who has been opposing the Yin Family during this time, they are all enemies."

"Things have reached this point, we can’t afford to take a wrong step lightly."

"..."

Su Xiaomeng tightened her lips.

Yes...

We can’t take another wrong step.

"Wu Yao and Uncle being together, they must have their plans, and all their plans hinge on ’Uncle’s death.’ We want to find Uncle, but we must be cautious about the approach, if we slip and let those with ill intentions know, it would be entirely harmful for Uncle."

Su Xiaomeng agreed with Shan Mingxu’s words. However...

"If he is alive, he should try every means to tell me, Mingxu, what do you think?"

"..."

This was indeed a point Shan Mingxu found difficult to explain.

Could Uncle be worried that they wouldn’t manage to cover it well?

So he kept it from them too?

Or is Uncle now in a situation where he cannot contact outsiders?

"If Uncle is alive and hasn’t told you, there must be Uncle’s own considerations."

"..."

Su Xiaomeng moved her gaze away from Shan Mingxu.

She did not get the answer she wanted.

Her eyes slightly sank...

Even if Yin Shixiu has a lot of his own considerations, Su Xiaomeng fundamentally hopes... he doesn’t keep her in the dark.

The two talked in the room for more than an hour.

For the exploration of the small towns around Tianjin Port next, Shan Mingxu found some trustworthy retiree friends from the military.

Six or seven people, not many, but up to now, they are no longer pursuing efficiency, only hoping to act discreetly and low-profile.

If they find clues about Uncle, that’s best, but if not, they cannot reveal their actions.

A knock sounded on the door...

Yin Shihua’s voice came through,

"Mingxu, Xiaomeng, do you want to have some snacks?"

As soon as Yin Shihua said this, Xiaomeng had already gotten up to open the door, she looked at Yin Shihua,

"Third sister, there’s no need, it’s getting late, I’m about to leave."

"Huh? You finished talking?"

"Yeah, finished talking."

"What were you discussing? Not letting us know, making it so mysterious..."

Yin Shihua mumbled.

Su Xiaomeng smiled,

"It’s nothing serious, I will tell you later, so don’t worry about it."

Xiaomeng said as she took Yin Shihua’s arm and walked out of the room.

Yin Shihua sighed, "This Mingxu is getting better and better with you, but rather distant with me, didn’t you see his impatient look at the dinner table just now, I really feel like I raised this son for nothing."

"Mingxu is so sensible now, how could it be?"

"Mom, you’re really taking it out of context."

Shan Mingxu packed up things and also came out of the room, just following behind Yin Shihua and Su Xiaomeng, he heard Yin Shihua exaggerating about him.

"What was it about?"

Xiaomeng casually laughed and asked, not taking the quarrel between mother and son seriously.

"She wants to set up a blind date for me."

Mingxu buried his hands in his pants pockets, faces straight ahead, when walking past them leisurely said.

"Pfft... Third sister, you’re way too anxious? How old is Mingxu this year?"

Su Xiaomeng’s words weren’t out of intention to help Mingxu, just genuinely feeling... a bit too hurried.

Shan Mingxu only left a tall and upright back, with a smile on his face knowing how it would be.