A fool and an imbecile sitting together, the only thing they seemed capable of doing was staring blankly. Watching Xiao Shu’s lingering resentment, detached from the world, I had no choice but to sit down and render myself an imbecile alongside him, just as vacant.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice laced with tentative hesitation, "Do you know why I've been so good to Xing'er?"

His question brought back a flood of memories concerning Xing'er and his time with the child, one memory chasing the next. Before, I thought they were intensely close, assuming he had been brainwashed by Xing'er. Now, it seemed there had to be a profound, underlying reason. I couldn't grasp the full story, only vaguely sense that some inextricable connection existed between him, Xing'er, and the woman who had just appeared.

"The infant that woman was holding just now—that was Xing'er, wasn't it?" I ventured a guess.

"Yes. The jade pendant Xing'er wears around his neck is mine. That pendant has been with me since I was very young. I gave it to Yingzi as a birthday gift on her fourteenth birthday because it was the most important thing in my life. Later, Yingzi disappeared. When I first saw Xing'er at Wang Jue's house, I recognized the pendant immediately. Hua Gu was holding him then, about to storm back to Miao Village in a huff. By instinct, I knew Xing'er and Yingzi must be linked somehow. That’s why, when we left the Reflection Villa, I found a moment to urge you to treat Xing'er kindly, not to view him as some blood-sucking fiend."

Hearing this, the truth finally struck me. No wonder that day, when we were supposed to be looking for information on the ghost infant, he became so hesitant and kept putting it off after my soul left my body and I was taken for a spin by the hunchbacked old woman. He had already resolved to cover for Xing'er. During the time the two children were hijacked by the monkey, I genuinely thought he, like Hua Gu, had been mesmerized by Xing'er, become a host for the ghost infant, and willingly allowed the child to drain his blood. It turned out I was the one being kept in the dark, not Xiao Shu.

"Because of this pendant, I'm certain the person I saw just now was Yingzi," Xiao Shu continued, his tone weighted with twelve measures of sorrow, as if accusing me that the one he loved had married, and the groom wasn't him.

Originally, I wanted to ask if the man in the woods moments ago was Li Xiaohao, but seeing his current look of profound misery, pressing further felt like sprinkling salt on a wound. I swallowed my question, reverting to vague, platitudinous sentiments to offer comfort.

"Good brother," I clapped him on the shoulder. "There are many things to do in life; feelings are only one part of it, not the entirety."

"En," he suddenly stood up, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. With the solemn air of a martyr facing execution, he gazed into the distance and declared resolutely, "Now, we must find Xing'er and Ali. I didn't know Xing'er’s origins before, but now that I do, I must take him back and raise him. Even if he drains me dry, I will find a way to see him grow into a man."

Seeing his somewhat comical demeanor, I couldn't help but find it amusing. The old saying is absolutely true: men in love exhibit diminished IQs. His words now were meaningless, because whether he could even bring Xing'er back was debatable, and even if he did, raising him wouldn't result in him becoming a 'person.' Merely looking at his and Hua Gu's arms, bruised purple and blue from being bled, it seemed a minor miracle if they didn't end up terrorizing the local villagers.

Perhaps this cynical thought stemmed from the fact that I had suffered at Xing'er's hands—permanently losing a finger. My affection for the child simply wasn't as deep as Hua Gu’s or Xiao Shu’s. I remained constantly vigilant, placing too much trust in the old folks' stories about the bloodthirsty ghost infant. I always felt that beneath that seemingly innocent smile lay a killing blade, and I constantly worried about the fate of Hua Gu and Xiao Shu regarding the orange peel incident.

"Fine, rescuing two children is the priority." I stood up, resigned, stuffing the stone into my backpack, ready to resume our unfinished journey.