"Ugh~~~" Fatty Lin clamped a hand over his mouth as he caught sight of Yang Yi's murderous glare, terrified he might blurt something out.

Seeing Feng Shi and Xuanyuan Bing on either side looking at him with confusion, Yang Yi curled his lip. He offered no explanation, especially since there were certain things he simply couldn't articulate; if the two women knew, he couldn't begin to guess how they might tease him.

"Fatty, how did it go?"

"Tsk, tsk!" Fatty Lin chuckled, shaking the mobile phone in his hand. "That guy spilled everything. Once we reach the station, ten or eight years should be no problem!"

"Mm." Yang Yi responded, his gaze drifting involuntarily toward the little girl sleeping soundly beside them.

Fatty Lin, too, wore an expression steeped in memory, which only deepened the confusion of Feng Shi and Xuanyuan Bing, making them all the more curious about the girl's identity.

"Boss, what do we do now? How did you manage to get him to confess everything?"

Two carriage police officers stood with ashen faces, staring at the middle-aged officer seated before them, who looked utterly panicked, his eyes almost vacant.

"What else can we do now? They have the evidence in hand. We..." The middle-aged officer slumped, utterly dejected, and fell silent.

"Boss, if it weren't for us..."

"Yeah, Boss, instead of waiting here to die, shouldn't we just run?"

"Run?" The middle-aged officer flinched at the word, as if suddenly grasping at a desperate thought. He muttered, "Run? Damn it, at this point, where could we possibly run to?"

"But if we don't run, once we arrive at the station..." The two subordinate officers didn't finish their sentence, but everyone knew what they implied. If they didn't run, the inevitable outcome for the three of them upon arrival was prison—that much was certain.

"No... running away means the monk escapes, but the temple remains. Our records are in the train station archives. If we implicate our families then..." This middle-aged officer seemed to possess a sliver of conscience; at this crucial moment, he was still thinking of his family, suggesting he was, perhaps, still a decent man.

Unfortunately, what he said next shattered that fragile facade. He paused, then inquired, "How much longer until we reach the station?"

"Let me check!" One of the officers glanced at his watch and said, "About ten more hours!"

"Ten hours?" The middle-aged officer paced a few steps back and forth before immediately giving orders. "Go, gather all those pickpocket gangs. Tell them to meet me here."

"Boss, what are you planning to do?"

"Damn it, just hurry up and don't ask questions! Time is tight..."

"Oh, got it." The two officers exchanged a look and hurried toward the rear of the carriage.

The middle-aged officer's face suddenly contorted into something menacing. He muttered under his breath, "You forced my hand this time. Don't blame me later."

Meanwhile, Yang Yi and his group, completely unaware of the sinister plot brewing from the middle-aged officer, sat silently in their seats. Some dozed off, others remained quiet. After all, it was nighttime; anyone awake would be abnormal.

"Brother Yi, it's been over two years, and she hasn't changed at all. But I fear we've changed too much," Fatty Lin murmured to Yang Yi as he sat beside him, glancing over.

"Heh." Yang Yi let out a noncommittal laugh, pulling the sleeping Xuanyuan Bing closer. He looked at her peaceful face and said calmly, "Our life trajectories are different from hers. Though we happened to cross paths this time, after this, our paths will diverge again. So... treat everything lightly, like a dragonfly skimming water. Don't get too deeply involved, or you'll drag someone completely out of your league into trouble, and that will harm her."

"Mm." Fatty Lin sounded thoughtful and subdued.

Xuanyuan Bing stirred slightly in Yang Yi's arms. Yang Yi, who had been watching her intently, allowed a faint smile to touch his lips. "I didn't expect to run into this little girl on the train this time, haha."

"Remember before we left the village, that old man told us..." Fatty Lin stopped abruptly, staring wide-eyed at a pair of slightly startled eyes. "You..."

"It really is you two! Why do you look so familiar? You..."

Fatty Lin had cut himself off because the little girl had woken up and was looking at him and Yang Yi with surprise.

"Uh, well, this..." Fatty Lin looked somewhat awkward.

Yang Yi was similar, but perhaps because his own shamelessness was more robust, he managed a smile. "Heh, long time no see."

"Yes, it's been about two years, hasn't it?" The girl's face flushed slightly, tinged with embarrassment. Seeing these two immediately brought back the memory of bathing at home, the finger-sized hole, and the two mischievous boys staring at her. The thought alone made her cheeks burn with shyness.

At that time, the girl had been utterly mortified. She hadn't pursued the matter only because she heard her father and the other uncles searching for them to settle scores, and more importantly, because they had knelt and admitted their wrongs. Crucially, these two were the only grandsons of the village's traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, so she let it go.

It turned out this girl was the one Yang Yi and Fatty Lin had spied on while she was bathing—the very catalyst that launched the first chapter of Yang Yi and his friends' adventures when the village men chased them down the street. Now, it was finally clear why the two boys hadn't told Feng Shi and Xuanyuan Bing directly; their history with this girl was profound.

"It has been two years since we last met. We never formally apologized for what happened back then. Since we have this rare chance to run into you, we are deeply sorry for the vulgar and shameless things we did." Yang Yi's seasoned rogue nature seemed to resurface as he offered the girl a remarkably sincere apology.

"Yeah, I should apologize too. We were young and didn't know any better," Fatty Lin said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and smiling.

"Pfft!" The girl pursed her lips and laughed. "Don't bring that up again; let bygones be bygones. Besides, I'm heading back to get married this time."

"Ah?"

Hearing this, both Yang Yi and Fatty Lin looked at her in surprise.

"Yes, haha. My father wants me to finalize the wedding before the end of the year. Are you two going back for the New Year as well?" The girl was quite an optimistic young woman; otherwise, she wouldn't have opened up so easily with Yang Yi and the others now.

"Uh, haha, I suppose so. It's been two years since I've been back. Time to go see Grandpa," Yang Yi replied with a faint smile.

"Mm, I really do need to thank you for this matter. Otherwise..."

Saying this, the girl's expression suddenly turned pale. Yang Yi and Fatty Lin exchanged a glance and both assured her, "That matter is over; you don't need to dwell on it. Plus, we only have a few hours until the station."

"I know. To thank you for helping me out this time, how about this: since you have time to go home, you must come to my house for the wedding banquet."

"Uh, haha, sure thing!" Yang Yi responded, momentarily stunned.

Thus, the three villagers sat together. One pretended to doze but kept every word they said, while another feigned sleep in Yang Yi’s arms but was intensely curious about what "vulgar and shameless things" Yang Yi and Fatty Lin had done to earn recognition from the little girl...

On the other side, ten to twenty pickpockets were crammed tightly into the car section ahead. Some had cigarette butts dangling from their lips, others fiddled with razor blades, and some stood with arms draped over shoulders, glaring arrogantly at the three carriage police officers facing them.

"Old Cheng, what did you call us here for?" one pickpocket asked the middle-aged officer.

"You all know what just happened. Now, the moment we reach the station, they're going to shut us down at the precinct. What do you think we should do now?" The middle-aged officer, named Old Cheng, narrowed his eyes, a cold sneer flickering in his heart.

"Damn, you didn't get rid of that kid?"

"Get rid of him?" Old Cheng scoffed. "That kid is something else. Seems like he knows some fighting techniques. The three of us together weren't a match for him."

"Old Cheng, if we get caught, how many years are we looking at?" A few of the pickpockets were women. They seemed more perceptive than the men, focusing on the consequences.

Hearing this question, Old Cheng inwardly cheered, "Good question!"

"This is going to be very troublesome," Old Cheng said, looking at the group of pickpockets whose faces had all dramatically changed. "In short, we are all in the same boat now. So I believe you all understand that we must stand together."

"First, tell us, how many years if we're caught?" a male pickpocket demanded.

"Twelve years lightly, life imprisonment severely," Old Cheng stated in a low voice.

Hearing this, the crowd of pickpockets' eyes widened. One of them asked, "You can't be joking, right? Petty thieves only get held for fifteen days and then released. You're trying to scare us!"

"Scare you?" Old Cheng shook his head. "You aren't just pickpockets now; you are a criminal gang colluding with the police. It would be a kindness if they didn't sentence you to firing squad."

"Oh, my God!" Hearing the word "firing squad," the entire group of pickpockets trembled violently.