The waiter wanted to ask, “Thank me for what?”

  But by then, Guo Dalu had already walked downstairs.

  The waiter sighed, rubbed his head, and muttered, “These people aren′t just big fools—they′re lunatics.”

  A very wise person once said something very wise: Being seen as a fool or a madman is actually quite fun—sometimes even more fun than being seen as a hero or a sage.

  But that waiter wasn′t a wise man. He had never heard this saying, and even if he had, he wouldn′t have understood it.

  Very few people truly understand it.

  There are two kinds of people in this world.

  One kind follows the rules and does things logically and predictably. Whatever they do, anyone can guess, anyone can understand.

  The other kind is different. They love doing things in ways that are unpredictable, almost ghostlike. Not only do others fail to understand what they′re doing—sometimes even they don′t understand it themselves.

  Wang Dong was this kind of person.

  So was Lin Taiping.

  But there is something in this world even more elusive than such people.

  And that is money.

  When you don′t need money, it often appears out of nowhere, without rhyme or reason. But when you truly need it, you can′t even catch a glimpse of it.

  What does it feel like to kill someone?

  Very few people know.

  Out of ten thousand people, perhaps only one has ever killed.

  Some say, "No matter what it feels like to kill, it′s surely better than being killed."

  Anyone who says that has likely never killed before.

  Others say, "The feeling of killing is even more terrifying than death itself."

  Even if those who say this haven′t killed, they have at least come very close.

  "Have you ever killed someone?"

  "How did you kill him?"

  "Why did you kill him?"

  Lin Taiping had been waiting for them to ask these two questions.

  But they never did.

  Wang Dong, Yan Qi, and Guo Dalu seemed to have reached a silent agreement—not a single one of them asked.

  None of them spoke at all.

  The county town wasn′t far from that mountain city, but when no one was talking, the distance felt much greater.

  Guo Dalu hummed a tune, occasionally pausing and picking it up again. The melody had probably been around for a long time, but the lyrics were definitely his own creation.

  No one but him could come up with lyrics like these.

  He arrived like the wind and left without a trace. He came to fix a carriage and left riding the breeze.

  Yan Qi suddenly asked, “What are you humming?”

  Guo Dalu replied, “This is called the ‘Coming and Going Song.’ Coming and going, those who leave don′t return, and those who come don′t leave.”

  Yan Qi, following his tune, sang, “What′s let go doesn′t pass; what passes isn′t let go. Let go, let pass, pass, and let go.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Let go of what?”

  Yan Qi replied, “Nonsense. This is called talking nonsense.”

  Guo Dalu put on a serious face and said, “You don′t have to insult me. There were people who begged me to sing before, and I couldn′t even be bothered.”

  Wang Dong nodded and said, “I know what kind of people they were.”

  Yan Qi blinked and asked, “What kind of people?”

  Wang Dong replied, “The deaf.”

  Guo Dalu tried to keep a straight face but couldn′t help ughing.

  Lin Taiping suddenly sneered, “At least the deaf are better than those who pretend to be deaf and mute.”

  Guo Dalu blinked and asked, “Who′s pretending to be deaf and mute?”

  Lin Taiping replied, “You. You, you.”

  He pointed at each of their faces one by one with his hand and said, "You clearly have something you want to ask, so why aren't you asking?"

  Wang Dong replied, "It's not that we don′t want to ask; it′s that there′s no need to."

  Lin Taiping asked, "Why is there no need to ask?"

  Wang Dong said, "A person like that—whether alive or dead—makes no difference."

  Guo Dalu added, "Exactly! The fewer people like that in the world, the better."

  He patted Lin Taiping on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Since you didn′t kill the wrong person, why should we even ask?"

  Lin Taiping gritted his teeth and suddenly asked, "Have you ever killed someone?"

  Guo Dalu looked at Wang Dong, and Wang Dong looked at Yan Qi.

  Yan Qi gave a bitter smile. "I′ve only ever been on the receiving end of an attempted killing."

  Suddenly, Lin Taiping leaped to the side of the road. As soon as he nded behind a tree, the sound of crying could be heard.

  Yan Qi looked at Guo Dalu, and Guo Dalu looked at Wang Dong.

  Wang Dong said, "He’s never killed anyone before."

  Guo Dalu nodded. "This was his first time."

  Yan Qi sighed. "So it turns out that killing someone feels even worse than being killed."