"The Man-Eating Monster" was a major case, and personnel from the Ministry of Public Security were dispatched to jointly investigate it. Wang Ren volunteered to handle the psychiatric evaluations for these patients. Her motive was the patient who had turned himself into a tree, the "Monster."
...
Dealing with psychiatric patients was tiring, but Wang Ren was diligent and kept excellent records. She only closed her notebook after the "Monster" was brought in.
"Hello!" Wang Ren had high expectations for the "Monster" and felt a bit nervous. Her voice carried a hint of shyness.
"Hello to you too!"
This "Monster" looked only a few years older than Wang Ren. He seemed to have discovered something novel and, upon entering, scrutinized Wang Ren's face.
Wang Ren touched her face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
"You are clearly a shape-shifting fox, yet you wear a human skin. You are not yet a true monster; your cultivation is insufficient. Someone must have helped you."
Wang Ren saw no need to argue with a patient. She had heard the story of a fox spirit wearing a human skin mask; it was a love story from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio." She didn't understand the latter part but didn't mind. Casually, she asked, "What's your name?"
The "Monster" did not answer Wang Ren's question. He smiled and said, "I don't like talking to people. Can I talk to the fox?"
Wang Ren pondered for a moment, then took out her pocket watch, opened its cover, and watched it quietly. She wished she could stop or reverse the hands, but she couldn't. The ticking of the watch made it difficult for her to concentrate.
The "Monster" snatched the pocket watch, found the winding button, pulled it out, and the hands stopped. Having done this, the "Monster" handed the watch back to Wang Ren. Wang Ren stared at the hands. Time reversed rapidly, turning into a blur of white.
"You want to talk to me?" Wang Ren's expression turned cold.
"Yes, I like animals."
"Why do you say I'm like a fox spirit? I'm not even beautiful."
"You are a fox. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I haven't told anyone about pigs, dogs, or cats. I won't tell anyone about foxes either."
"Who is the pig?" Wang Ren's mind began to connect this with Cao Shi. During the New Year's case, Li Jiu and Cao Shi had discussed the issue of monsters. This patient must be the "Monster" Duan Dongyang was looking for, so Cao Shi might be the pig.
"Would you ask for a pig's name?" The "Monster's" question left Wang Ren speechless.
"Tell me about the pig, please?"
"Was it looking for food?"
"Food?"
"No, not food to fill its stomach, but spiritual nourishment. It wants to cultivate into a monster like me, one who knows five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future."
"Did you teach it?"
"I did!"
The "Monster" spoke erratically, but Wang Ren understood the logic. Although Cao Shi hadn't learned from a master, he had learned from others.
"What else did the pig say?"
"The pig was rare in its intelligence and spoke little. A few days after it left, the dog arrived. This dog was a Western three-headed dog, but the middle head had been cut off by a knife, bloody and terrifying. I was too scared to look at it."
A three-headed dog? Cerberus? No, it must be a metaphor. Wang Ren pondered for a moment and understood. This dog was likely the Senior Brother, and the three heads represented his three personalities. Wang Ren knew this: the Senior Brother had three personalities – a chef, a scholar, and a criminal, with the latter suppressed deep within.
"Why did the dog come to you?"
"It smelled the pig. I wanted to talk to it, but it was a mad dog, biting indiscriminately. It bit me."
Wang Ren frowned, analyzing. After Cao Shi went to learn from the "Monster," the Senior Brother found out and also approached the "Monster." This led to the current situation involving Duan Dongyang. However, the foundation of the Senior Brother and Duan Dongyang's cooperation was to hand this "Monster" over to Duan Dongyang. What aspect of this "Monster" attracted Duan Dongyang's interest? If it were medical skills, he wouldn't have been driven to madness long ago.
"When did the cat come?"
"Yesterday, just before you arrived. It stayed for a while."
"Can you describe what the cat looked like?"
"The cat licked its fur until it shone, and it smelled of heat."
Although the "Monster" didn't say it explicitly, his description made Wang Ren realize this cat was Zhu Guang.
"Was the cat also here to learn?"
"No, ordinary cats aren't very intelligent, and this cat was no different. It just wanted to understand the dog, but it underestimated the dog. If the master dies one day, the cat will be bitten to death by the dog."
"Did anyone else come?"
"You, the fox."
Wang Ren smiled.
The "Monster" deflated like a punctured ball, his face mournful. "They took the human skin mask back so quickly."
Wang Ren ignored the "Monster," opened her pocket watch, and the hands stopped. She looked at the interrogation room clock, set the time, rewound it, and the hands began to tick again.
"Thank you, senior Monster. I don't think I have any more questions."
"I have a question!" The "Monster's" curiosity was piqued.
"Please, ask away!"
"Do you have other animals at your home?"
"I suppose so!" Wang Ren thought of Li Jiu.
"What is it?"
"I don't have your abilities. I don't know."
"Is your master dying?"
Wang Ren's brow furrowed at the "Monster's" question. She remained silent, looking at him.
"A master has several pets. While he lives, these pets coexist peacefully. Once he dies, these ambitious pets will fight. The cat is proud, but it will be the first to die. The dog has great ambition, but who will win in the end is unknown, because the pig is an intelligent pig. No matter how they fight, only one will remain in the end."
"What about me?"
"Your master has already turned you into a human. The fight among animals has nothing to do with you."
"What does this have to do with the master's death?"
"Your master saw this outcome, but he was running out of time, so he sent you to find me. I like animals and won't let you be harmed. With me here, I can let you live for a long time."
So, this was the master's intention. Wang Ren smiled. Her master was always a god-like figure in her heart. After a moment's thought, she stood up to leave. The "Monster," seeing Wang Ren go, sighed listlessly, then struck a pose and turned himself into a tree.
As Wang Ren reached the door and saw the "Monster" transformed into a tree, she called out, "If you ever wake up, remember my master's name. He is Wendé, a celestial being."
The "Monster" seemed to have truly become a tree.
...
Upon seeing Wang Ren's report, the captain extended his hand to shake hers. "Our criminal investigation team needs psychological experts like you. Are you interested in joining the police force?"
"Perhaps in the future, but not now."
The captain laughed heartily. "Whether you agree or not, I will trouble you again in the future."
"Then have Wang Zeyu drive me back."
The captain nodded. "Wang Zeyu, drive Ms. Wang Ren back."
...
Upon returning to Wendé's small courtyard, Wang Ren saw Zhu Guang selling his magazines to a scrap dealer. Wang Ren was puzzled. These magazines were her second senior brother's treasures; how could he bear to sell them?
"Why are you selling them?"
"I always believed that humanity's most primitive desire was love and romance, after all, there's the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. However, after receiving the master's assessment pouch, I realized that Adam and Eve didn't eat the forbidden fruit because of love, but because they wanted to have a child, and their purpose in having a child was to create more people to defeat God. Therefore, humanity's most primitive desire is victory. Do you know, senior sister! When you grasp someone's desires, you can turn them into chess pieces. At that point, no matter how skilled the player, they must abide by the rules of the game."
Wang Ren gave an awkward smile. "Senior Brother, I don't quite understand." Zhu Guang was about to explain when Li Jiu's roar echoed from the courtyard: "I'm not wrong, I'm not wrong at all! Why am I the only one who failed the assessment?"
Wang Ren hurried into the courtyard and pulled Li Jiu, who had confronted Wendé for the first time, into the house. She then learned that Li Jiu's assessment question was: What is the highest realm of a schemer? Li Jiu's answer was: All things under heaven are not owned, all things under heaven are used by me. This was proposed by Cao Shi, but also acknowledged by old master Wendé as the highest realm. Li Jiu wrote this answer, but old master Wendé rejected it. Therefore, Li Jiu, the most learned among them, failed the assessment.
Looking at his junior brother's indignant face, Wang Ren smiled. "Junior Brother, do you want to know my answer?"
"You have another answer?"
"First there is the Dao, then there are the methods. Let everything follow the heart."
"I don't understand!"
Wang Ren laughed heartily. "I don't understand either, but this is your senior sister's highest realm. Come, I'll accompany you to apologize to the master. The future is long. Study hard, and one day, you will become the true schemer of our lineage."
...
As Wang Ren and Li Jiu walked out, they saw everyone present, their expressions somber. Even outsiders like Gao Xiaojuan and Wang Zeyu were silent.
Old master Wendé, seeing that everyone had gathered, finally spoke. "You are my disciples. No matter what you become in the future, always remember that you lived together in this courtyard. From today onwards, this master will no longer interfere in any schemes. Just as there is 'washing hands in a golden basin,' today there is Wendé's 'sealing of schemes.' A word is a promise, sealed."
With that, Wendé wrote the character "封" (seal) on his left hand with his right hand. Although old master Wendé had not lived a life of clashing swords and iron horses, his silent espionage career had been adorned with medals of victory. From his departure to the Pacific battlefield in 1942 to the sealing of schemes when the peach blossoms bloomed in *****, old master Wendé's 47-year career as a schemer came to an end.