Chapter 308: The Death of Deng Xuemei

2022-05-20

The handwriting in the letter Deng Xuemei left behind was delicate and neat. I compared it with other documents carrying her handwriting, and it was, without a doubt, the same. That meant this letter truly came from Deng Xuemei herself. In it, she poured out her motive for killing, as well as the pent-up anger flooding her heart.

But as I read on, I noticed contradictions scattered throughout. Deng Xuemei’s words for herself and for others were like night and day. The heartfelt tone gave the impression she’d laid bare every frustration life had thrown at her, offering a window into her state of mind.

Lü Zhiqiu really had helped Deng Xuemei, and everyone knew it. So, as soon as Deng Xuemei realized she didn’t have much time left, it wasn’t hard to believe she could turn to murder. The letter made it clear—she never stopped searching for the killer. She wanted to reveal their identity, but running short on time, she resorted to killing every suspect.

Looking at things objectively—from the timing, motive, method, physical evidence and witnesses, inside and out—it all pointed to Deng Xuemei’s guilt. She herself confessed in the letter. It looked like an open-and-shut case. Yet, deep down, something still felt off, as if something vital was missing.

In the final lines, Deng Xuemei said her heart’s last wish had been fulfilled. There was nothing left for her in this world. Her father, the only person she’d relied on, died years ago. She was completely alone, no family to tie her here. This world had let her down, utterly disappointed her with its selfishness.

So Deng Xuemei decided to end her life, and her chosen method was simple—jumping off a cliff.

In her own words: “There are countless ways to leave this world. Some hang themselves, others take poison. But whatever the method, someone always needs to claim the body. Only jumping off a cliff—especially into the sea—breaks this cycle. All life began in the ocean; perhaps returning to the sea in death is the best ending of all.”

“Farewell, world.”

That was the last line. From the opening, it was clear Deng Xuemei planned on taking her own life. Still, I never expected she’d choose such a way to die.

When we see a corpse, there are generally four possible causes of death: suicide, homicide, accident, or nature taking its course. Natural causes are easiest to spot.

If we set aside natural deaths, identifying a body’s cause in some situations becomes extremely tough.

Like with someone who jumps—off a building, a cliff, or into the sea. With what we have now, these are the toughest cases to crack. Without evidence or witness testimony, it’s almost impossible to tell these apart.

Take this for example: Someone falls from a cliff. How do we know if they jumped, were pushed, or just slipped?

If it’s suicide, the person jumped willingly. If it’s homicide, someone could have nudged or startled them over the edge on purpose. If it’s an accident, they just lost their footing.

But these scenarios always add up to the same end: trauma from the fall. It means combing the site for clues, questioning witnesses, checking surveillance, figuring out who was present and why they’d want the victim dead.

Most killers can’t stay calm after a murder. Under investigation, they flounder, get nervous, struggle to keep their story straight. But if a killer is shrewd enough not to leave a trace, and doesn’t slip up under questioning, is there any reliable way to know whether the victim jumped, was pushed, or just fell?

“Doubt should always remain,” as they say. Without solid proof, you can’t call someone a murderer. To avoid wrongful convictions, cases like these demand extra caution. Right now, Deng Xuemei is gone, and her letter points to suicide.

But her body is missing. No one knows exactly where she jumped into the sea, making it almost impossible to find her remains quickly. Even if we did know the spot, there’s no guarantee we’d recover her. Each year, plenty of bodies are pulled from Dongxing City’s beach, and just as many are swallowed by the waves forever.

There’s no conclusive evidence until we see the body. I’m not convinced by a letter alone. What if Deng Xuemei just faked her death to mislead us, escaping Dongxing City to live quietly elsewhere until her days end?

Swapping one letter for two carefree years sounds plausible enough.

But then again, who can really say if it was suicide or murder?

Something else nagged at me. I’d noticed on her shopping list, there were items Deng Xuemei would never need—like a bait tray for fishing. That struck me as odd, especially since it’s rare for a young woman to enjoy fishing. Was it just because the supermarket had a sale?

Thinking about it now, if Deng Xuemei planned to head for the shore, bringing along a bait tray wouldn’t be that strange. But would someone bent on suicide decide to go fishing first? If so, that’s some impressive peace of mind, and someone that upbeat probably wouldn’t want to die in the first place.

I frowned, fingers digging into my hair. This supposed suicide note had too many holes. If you analyze it from different angles, Deng Xuemei just doesn’t strike me as the type to kill herself. So where did she actually go?

“Something’s wrong with this letter.” I finally spoke up. “Really wrong. From what we’ve seen, it’s not likely Deng Xuemei would commit suicide. She was living well in this apartment—shopping sprees, spending time cooking nice meals, making herself look pretty before leaving. Does that sound like someone planning to end her life?”

Zhao Mingkun shook her head. “People who truly mean to die never make a big show of it. I get the same uneasy feeling. Deng Xuemei’s letter is, well, it’s just too flashy.”

What Zhao Mingkun said hit home, so I waved for her to go on.

“Think about it,” she continued, shaking her head, “Deng Xuemei said she had no one left. So who was this for? If it was for us, why bother? She’d already killed everyone she meant to, so why spell it out? The letter dwells endlessly on her motive for murder.”

“And barely says anything else. It’s like she’s desperate to tie all the killings to herself—like she wants to declare it to the world. Even leaving those chemicals behind says the same. I can’t shake the feeling she’s just trying way too hard.”

I slapped the desk. “Exactly! It’s just too much. She’s spent so many words pushing that angle, it’s over the top.”

“It’s like…” I looked to Zhao Mingkun, seriously. “She’s trying to shoulder all the blame for the killings herself.”

Silence settled over us. Deng Xuemei’s behavior was just too strange, full of contradictions.

At that moment, the phone rang. I glanced at the screen—it was Gu Chen.

“Gu Chen?” I asked as I picked up. “Any leads?”

Gu Chen’s voice came through the line. “Got something. According to Mary, after looking into Jiang Xiaochun like you asked, she discovered something odd.”

“Something odd?” I echoed.

Gu Chen explained, “Yeah. While investigating, Mary found out that Hu Pei’s daughter isn’t actually Jiang Xiaochun’s child.”

“What?” The news threw me.

“That’s right,” Gu Chen said. “Hu Xiaoxue is definitely Hu Pei’s daughter, but her mother isn’t Jiang Xiaochun. Her real mother is a woman named Xu Man. Seven years ago, Hu Pei cheated on Lü Zhiqiu and got another woman pregnant.”

“Back then, Hu Pei had no idea. It wasn’t until Xu Man’s belly was too big to hide that she came looking for him. All they could do then was wait for the child. But Xu Man knew Hu Pei had a girlfriend, Lü Zhiqiu, so she wanted to come clean. She picked the night his internship ended to talk.”

“That night, Xu Man was terrified. She rented a place by herself with Hu Pei’s money. During his internship, she suffered from stomach pains. Scared out of her mind, she called Hu Pei, but he was busy at the construction site and ignored the call. Desperate, she phoned her parents. They never imagined that their daughter would get herself in such a mess.”

Gu Chen paused, then continued, “Her parents were so shocked by her pregnancy that they cut her off entirely that very night. Desperate, Xu Man took a taxi to the worksite where Hu Pei was, hoping to talk things out with Lü Zhiqiu.”

“Hu Pei eventually found out and rushed to find Xu Man,” Gu Chen continued.

“Did he manage to find her?” I asked.

“That I don’t know,” Gu Chen replied. “That’s as far as Mary got in her investigation. The rest you might need to ask Xu Man herself. What we do know is that after having the child, Xu Man left. But Mary discovered she’s working at a KTV now…”