Volume One, Chapter 18: The Death of the Dancer (11)

Was it fleeing out of guilt, or something else...? My head felt like it was about to split from all the overthinking.

Suddenly, a familiar sensation I hadn’t felt in days surged back, as if a spark had ignited in my mind. A voice teased mockingly: "Fool, can’t you think a little more? Why must you always leave it to me?"

My thoughts raced, and then a brilliant idea struck me. I turned to Old Cui and said, "Old Cui, that’s right—we have DNA. Let’s go back to the hospital and find his lab coat or gather some hair or skin flakes from the chair he sat in. That should confirm it. Then we can issue a wanted notice."

Old Cui nodded in agreement, and we prepared to head back to the hospital following this plan.

Just then, my phone beeped. Sitting in the car, I looked down and opened it to find an automatically pushed news article:

“It has been one month since Ke Beibei passed away; her beautiful presence and smile…”

Probably because I had previously searched so much about Ke Beibei, the algorithm had automatically pushed her news to me.

Wait, one month... Could he really be there?

Pondering this possibility, I finally resolved to go see for myself.

I briefly explained the situation to Old Cui, and we hurriedly drove to the unfinished building where Ke Beibei’s accident had occurred.

After nearly an hour’s drive and then gasping our way up nine flights of stairs, we finally saw Mu Xi on the rooftop of the derelict building.

Having watched the video footage of Ke Beibei’s jump taken by passersby, I noticed that Mu Xi was sitting exactly where she had, in the same posture on the edge, swinging his childish legs back and forth.

Seeing us, he showed no surprise, greeting us warmly, "You’re slow, you know. I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon."

I worried he might accidentally be blown off by the wind in that precarious position, so I hurriedly said, "It’s dangerous up there. Come down, and we’ll talk slowly."

Old Cui and I exchanged glances, silently dividing our tasks.

I would stay and try to keep him calm, speaking softly to Mu Xi while inching closer, while Old Cui gradually retreated to find a place to call the police.

Mu Xi gave me a warning look; as I took a few steps forward, I retreated again.

"I know sooner or later you’ll find me. I killed a few scums so I could go see her. Today was supposed to be our wedding day," he hummed softly the wedding march, never once glancing my way. His voice shifted between gentle sweetness and a mournful low, as if lost in some reverie.

"Mu Xi, come down first and we can talk..." I said cautiously. He looked like a fragile porcelain doll, and I feared a single wrong word might shatter him. Yet I forced myself to speak.

He interrupted, turning his gaze toward a distant corner of the wall: "All the causes and effects, I wrote them down in that letter."

While Old Cui finished his call and our eyes both turned to the wall corner, he spread his arms like a human butterfly and floated downward.

My heart plummeted, overwhelmed by helplessness, frustration, and sorrow that threatened to suffocate me. Yet I still clung to hope, desperate to do something—anything—to save him.

Old Cui and I rushed forward, begging to catch him, even if just a corner of his clothes.

But it was all a hopeless fantasy.

From beginning to end, it lasted no more than half an hour—so brief, yet unbearably long.

The only thing I could grasp amidst the wind was a single phrase: "Beibei, I didn’t take good care of you. But it’s okay, I’m here with you now."

In that letter, Mu Xi detailed his crimes:

On September 20th, my beloved left me. Upon learning the truth, I decided to avenge her.

On September 27th, the seventh day after Beibei’s death, I took sleeping pills from work, drugged Li Huai and Li Xiaole, then stabbed them with a knife. I tore through their roots, waist, heart, and lungs—those beasts deserved it.

On October 4th, I obtained some morphine from the hospital. At night, I found the wandering Xia Mingguang, fed him a meal, then injected him with morphine. Sure enough, he got into a car accident. Let him taste what it’s like to rot into mud after death.

On October 11th, I went to Xu Wei’s house and put potassium chloride in his cup. He died immediately.

Whether this is true or not, I believe you can verify it.

Furthermore, first, I want my Beibei to leave this world cleanly. If you release any negative or private information about her, my client will sue you for "invasion of privacy" and expose you. Second, after my death, my body and Beibei’s must be cremated together. No autopsy is allowed, or my client will sue and expose you.

After reading the letter, Old Cui and I exchanged a knowing glance.

As police officers, receiving such a bizarre threat felt incredibly frustrating.

But the dead hold the utmost respect; what more could we say, or what anger could we express?

By the time the police arrived and finished processing the scene, it was already past midnight.

The next day, we continued our investigations without pause:

The unknown DNA found at the scene matched Mu Xi’s hair with a 99.99% probability.

It was also confirmed that the hospital had lost some drugs over the past month, and these matched the medications involved in the deaths of the three victims.

Everything seemed to have settled.

As for the precise relationship between Ke Beibei and Li Huai, Xia Mingguang, and Xu Wei—was it really necessary to dig deeper?

Thinking the case was closed, I finally hoped to sleep peacefully.

Yet that night, I had a strange dream:

I found myself in a vast, empty place, with no plants or trees around. I wandered aimlessly, as if I had a long road ahead with no end in sight.

Suddenly, without warning, I fell into a river.

I struggled, terrified.

Unconsciously, I noticed a dark shadow by the shore.

Looking harder, it was none other than that little demon with dark circles under her eyes.

She quietly watched my desperate struggle, then, with a voice both cold and helpless, said as if disappointed in me:

"Without me, how could you have kept your life? Yet I so wish you would disappear, so I could take your place."