Chapter 385: The Woman Who Endured

Xiao Yu was furious.

A woman and a wolf had managed to infuriate him.

He had never underestimated women. 

Many men throughout history had pursued greatness, building empires and leaving their mark on the world. But to Xiao Yu, that wasn’t impressive.

Because those men had their eyes set only on power, ambition, and conquest. They rarely placed women in their hearts, always assuming they were weak, dependent, and insignificant. They dismissed them as mere attachments, unworthy of attention.

But how many had stopped to consider—how many queens, empresses, and female rulers had history produced? 

And how many of the so-called mighty kings, heroes, and conquerors had been toyed with by the very women they looked down upon?

For the first time, Xiao Yu had encountered a woman who could endure in silence for so long. She had remained hidden, waiting patiently, refusing to expose herself until the final moment.

‘And the fool turned out to be me.’

As he walked, a hint of self-mockery flashed across his face.

The scent of the wolf still lingered in the air. Xiao Yu followed it until it abruptly disappeared, right at the edge of a road.

It was just like the beginning of the case, when Cao Xude had been killed. Back then, he had also tracked the wolf’s scent to a road, only to lose it.

This time, however, things were different.

Xiao Yu looked up. Surveillance cameras covered the area.

***

“The license plate is registered in City B. The owner is a relative of Jiang Huiying,” Guo Qiang reported over the radio. “We traced the vehicle. It left the city, and we found it abandoned in the suburbs. But Jiang Huiying and the wolf are nowhere to be found.”

Xiao Yu studied the surveillance footage on his tablet. The high-angle camera had captured an SUV parked outside the hospital.

At 1:17 AM, the SUV door opened.

A grassland wolf leaped out and sprinted toward the hospital.

At 1:26 AM, it crashed through a window, lunged into the surgical ward, and attacked Fang Hongding.

At 1:29 AM, the wolf ran back to the SUV. The vehicle drove away.

Twelve minutes.

The entire attack had lasted no more than twelve minutes.

Xiao Yu zoomed in on the SUV’s windshield. Then he enhanced it. A blurred face became slightly clearer.

It was a woman. Short hair.

Xiao Yu put down the tablet, his expression turning cold.

She didn’t run. Not truly.

One member of the Brotherhood was still alive. Would she really leave him be?

Leaving the city was just a distraction, a way to mislead the police.

She was coming back. She had likely already returned with her wolf. But that wasn’t the real concern.

How did she know Fang Hongding was in the hospital?

And how did the wolf find him so precisely?

***

Xiao Yu arrived at the hospital and rechecked the scene.

There were no traces of drugs.

With Monarch Butterfly’s Nose activated, he scanned the area, carefully examining Fang Hongding’s corpse. He slowly leaned in, bringing his face close to the dead man’s neck.

Then, his eyes sharpened.

What’s that smell?

It was minty, yet not quite. There was an herbal scent mixed in.

He stood up and walked to the window. The same scent was on the windowsill and the frame.

Climbing through, he landed outside.

The scent was here too.

Squatting down, he shone his phone’s flashlight on the ground. Tiny particles of powder were scattered across the pavement.

He followed the faint trail, step by step, until he reached the exact spot where Jiang Huiying’s SUV had been parked.

***

“Pull the hospital surveillance.”

Security footage from the surgical ward played on the screen.

Most of the people coming and going were medical staff. It was late at night, and there weren’t many patients.

Then, a woman in a white lab coat caught Xiao Yu’s attention.

She entered Fang Hongding’s ward thirty minutes after he was admitted. She walked directly to his bedside, performing a routine checkup right in front of the two police officers guarding him. She pressed her gloved fingers against his neck a few times.

Then she walked over to the window.

She didn’t close it.

She left something behind.

Xiao Yu’s eyes turned cold as he watched her slip a hand into her coat pocket, then rub the windowsill and the frame.

She left the room twenty minutes before the attack.

And then, the wolf crashed through the window and killed Fang Hongding.

Outside the hospital, surveillance cameras caught the woman walking along the windows before leaving.

As she walked, she shook her hands slightly, dispersing something.

She reached the parking lot, got into the SUV, and drove away.

Xiao Yu smirked coldly.

‘So that’s how she did it.’

Another scent-based kill.

She disguised herself as medical staff to get close to Fang Hongding. She left the scent on his neck. She left the scent on the window frame. She left the scent leading outside the hospital. Then, she released the wolf.

The wolf, following the scent, found its target and attacked.

But now, a new question arose.

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes.

How did she know Fang Hongding was sent to the hospital?

She had watched everything. She had seen Fang Hongding get arrested. She had seen him taken to the Criminal Investigation Brigade. She had tailed him to the hospital.

Xiao Yu let out a slow breath.

This woman…

She would stop at nothing for revenge. Her methods—even most men wouldn’t go this far.

But she was definitely going after Fang Jie next.

The last surviving Brotherhood member.

“If that’s what you want…” Xiao Yu’s gaze sharpened. “I’ll bring Fang Jie out.”

***

Morning, Bincheng Detention Center

Two officers escorted Fang Jie out of the detention center.

Xiao Yu scanned the surroundings. He was nothing.

Fang Jie was loaded into a police car. They drove back to the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Still, no attack.

Had Jiang Huiying really escaped? Would she truly give up on killing the last Brotherhood member? Or was she waiting for the right moment?

Xiao Yu shook his head, stepping outside for a smoke.

Just as he passed through the entrance, a cleaning lady walked by, heading toward the exit.

Xiao Yu froze in place.

He senses a familiar scent. The same scent from Fang Hongding’s murder.

He lunged forward, grabbing the woman’s shoulder without hesitation. His voice was cold as ice.

“Jiang Huiying?”